Edwards on VetVoice: Homeless Veterans: A Real Crisis, No Matter What Others Say

http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=409

John Edwards posted a diary on VetVoice. Check out the poll running on that page. "Bill O'Reilly needs to go? Agree or Disagree?" The results have 98% agreeing that O'Reilly needs to go. :rofl:

Say what you will about Edwards but he has the Veterans turning against O'Reilly and that makes me happier than a pig in shit. Go John!



Beyond my obvious glee that John is sticking it to O'Reilly, I really like the way Edwards is addressing this issue. Here's a bit from the diary...

"Many things can force a veteran to become homeless - from personal tragedy to economic misfortune. Yet it is clear that mental illness is one of the major forces behind homelessness, as Mr. O'Reilly himself has admitted.

Last fall, I proposed a comprehensive plan to addresses the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) crisis, which continues to drive the problem of homeless veterans.

The surge in PTSD is one of the greatest tragedies of the mismanaged war in Iraq. The number of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans seeking treatment for PTSD from the Department of Veterans Affairs increased nearly 20,000 - almost 70% - in the year ending in June 2007. If these veterans' mental conditions remain untreated, they will lead lives filled with despair, confusion, and economic uncertainty-precisely the conditions that may lead them to lose their families, their jobs, and their homes.

There is little I can do about the ignorance and spite of some in America who choose to ignore the plight of our veterans, but what I can do is tell you the steps I would take, as president, to deal with the PTSD crisis.

The ideal "dwell-time" for a soldier is twice as much time at home as on tour. Inadequate dwell time leads to higher levels of PTSD, as soldiers have too little time to recuperate between deployments. The Bush Administration has extended tours to 15 months, with troops given too little time at home in between deployments. Troops have also been redeployed with PTSD - a problem even the Bush Administration has described as "daunting and growing." As president, I will avoid deployment patterns likely to lead to higher levels of PTSD.

Too often, veterans also have a difficult time getting counseling because there are not enough trained counselors in the TRICARE and VA networks. Veterans also sometimes even avoid getting care because of the stigma associated with PTSD. As president, I will increase counseling resources within these networks, and I will permit veterans to access counseling outside of the networks. I will also improve training for health personnel to recognize and treat PTSD and establish uniform standards for mental health care. Finally, I will make sure that outreach is extended to family members, who can help recognize symptoms of PTSD and help their loved ones get the help they need."

Thanks for posting this, pamela. Edwards seems to be the only candidate addressing veterans issues.

what a great plan! why is no one listening?

and he should be called on the carpet. This is worthy of a boycott, IMHO, similar to the Imus thing.

Why do Bill O'Leilly, right-wingers and the Corporate Media hate the troops?

:shrug:


(This diary by John is wonderful...instead of focusing on that, my rant was directed towards O'Leilly and the fact that the media is conveniently dismissing this story - probably because it involves Edwards)

John is leading the fight for veterans, just like he has on all the important issues.

BTW, Welcome to DU, Yanez!:hi:

The OR statement was one of the most ignorant statements he's ever made. And, that's saying a lot.

I watched a bit of O'Reilly last night (yeah I know) and he is SEETHING about this.

I hate that motherfucker and I don't use the word "hate" often-at least not in reference to people. I am so glad that John is taking him on. I was disgusted that Hillary and Obama played nice with him when he showed up at their events. They should have said "I'm sorry, but I don't give interviews to sexual predators." John Edwards is the only one to stand up to O'Reilly.

It's a good thing we have John, or no one would talk about the Vets.

Here is a sentence that shows me he really gets it-"and I will permit veterans to access counseling outside of the networks." I've long thought that this was going to be a key to having our returning veterans get over the military stigma of getting treatment. This shows me that John has given this issue some thought. I like the part about providing services to families, too, so they can recognize the symptoms.

I started to tell people to make sure they read the comments but I feel like I've been so bossy lately-lol. But, yes, the comments were great.

Jones just got nominated for best actor Oscar for his great portrayal of a father of a soldier that got killed that highlights the problems with PTSD. Especially if he could win the Oscar, I could see a GREAT speech coming from Tommy Lee Jones on the need to deal with this VERY real and what should be a very troubling problem.

Those who haven't seen "In the Valley of Elah" should try to do so! It really hits home on how much of a sleeping giant problem this is and how if we don't deal with problems like homeless vets and other treatment for their problems coming back from Iraq, we're going to have a huge monster on our hands in a few years time.

When one considers the following stats (I'm requoting Jeremy Scahill's stats here in some cases from his Blackwater presentations).

WWII:
- ratio of wounded to KIA was around 1:1.

Vietnam:
- ratio of wounded to KIA was around 3:1.
- KIA during war was around 58K.
- Recently it was released that more veterans from that war have committed suicide than died in the war itself (>58K!)

First Gulf War:
- ratio of wounded to KIA was around 9:1.

Current Iraq War:
- ratio of wounded to KIA is around 17:1.
- these stats aren't even figuring those of the mercenary contractors
- current number of KIA is around 3931. Estimates of mercenary deaths is around 800 or more from a few months ago, making likely U.S. deaths from this war around 5000.

If we postulate that the number of suicides can be correlated to the number of wounded in these wars, the liklihood of a HUGE number of American suicides (and perhaps homicides from these vets as well as indicated by the Elah film). It wouldn't be too hard to conjecture that the ultimate number of suicides would perhaps be as much as six times the number of actual KIA in the war comparing the suicide rate of Vietnam along with the KIA/wounded ratios from that war and this one. That could be around 30,000 suicides over time folks!

I think Edwards working with Jones on the stump would be a HUGE way of trying to make this problem a visible one. I'm sure that director Susan Sarandon, who I believe is also an Edwards supporter, would help with this too!

:kick:

And I am so glad he's addressing it!
One of my clients is a disabled Vet who can't leave his apartment because he can't get batteries for his wheel chair and Medicaid no longer pays for them!
He's at least got a home but still..it sucks!