The Ithaca Voice, an online-only news outlet in upstate New York, has launched a 10-part series focused on improving life for Ithaca's veterans.
The series, titled "Hope on the Homefront," will take a deep and compelling look at how the approximately 5,000 veterans in Ithaca and Tompkins County are doing. Reporter Melissa Whitworth says the series will "both expose the struggles of the Ithaca area’s war veterans and explore what our local government can do to improve veterans’ lives."
Whitworth spent three months researching, visiting clinics and the Tompkins County Jail, meeting with veteran-support organizations and interviewing veterans themselves. What she found was a lot of struggle but also a lot of room for hope and opportunity.
By exploring various programs that help veterans readjust to civilian life, seek treatment for PTSD, join support groups and find jobs, Whitworth aims to reframe a conversation around veterans that is so often limited to their struggles, from homelessness and poverty to mental illness and unemployment.
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