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FROM AP: Correction: Oklahoma Tornado story
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
In his foreword to the "2011 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress," released in November 2012, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun ...
Books are written about the lawyers who dedicate pro-bono time to helping the indigent. One such book put out by the American Bar Association is a collection of stories about the good work being done. But none of the stories tells a tale like the one going on in Charleston.
The VA got a lot done under really tough conditions in the last several years. That includes dealing with increasing IT workload regarding the GI Bill, more web-based access to benefits, and processing a lot more vets entering the system.
Starting at midnight tonight, and spacing out each suicide at intervals of 65 or 66 minutes, the timeline herein matches up with the number of veterans who will commit suicide over the next 24 hours.
It's no surprise that American corporations spend billions of dollars each year on lobbying, trying to gain favorable treatment from legislators. What some may find a bit unnerving is the industry that's leading the pack in these efforts.
Faced with faculty animosity, veterans often have no idea where to turn. Many feel isolated on campus to begin with. They are older than their peers and their life experience is radically different from theirs.
We all like heroes. But not even a prince who's also a celebrity can get away with calling our attention to a larger truth: the mission for a trained soldier is to find and kill the enemy. Period.
When we talk about a healthy population, we need to remember that a very important focus needs to be on the health of our returning veterans. We need to develop and implement programs for the veterans designed to improve stress management and encourage healthy outcomes.
I have consistently defended Senator Chuck Hagel, President Obama's choice for Secretary of Defense, against allegations that he is "anti-Semitic," against attacks for his lack of appetite for "elective" wars, etc.
The VA is getting a lot of good work done, using IT to much better serve veterans by helping address the disability claims backlog, maybe their biggest challenge. Sure, the tech is a work in progress, but the greater issue involves skepticism and low expectations.
What kind of nation asks men and women to put their lives on hold and in jeopardy, promising them medical care and benefits, and then fails to deliver that care when it's most needed?
It is likely that we have already heard firsthand from our World War II veterans most of the stories from that dreadful war and that we may not hear many more new ones as these heroes are leaving us at an alarming rate of 800 to 1,000 each and every day.
My Christmas while deployed years ago is the type of Christmas so many of our service members will experience this year. Currently deployed and at war, these troops will miss the most critical, most special part of the holiday season: family.
They're still there: the homeless. In doorways, in the parks, on the streets, under bridges, on vacant land. Every day of the year.
Our society continues to struggle to understand the factors that lead service members and veterans to choose to end their lives, as we search for successful programs and effective interventions.
For thousands of veterans across America, life during the holidays is going to be tough this year. After fighting for our country in Iraq and Afghanistan, they're coming home to high unemployment rates and a broken VA system.
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