For Iraq veteran with post-traumatic stress, help never came

"The Army broke my son. They broke him, and then they threw him away." – Ozawa Skipper-Coleman, who says the Army discharged her son, an Iraq war veteran, instead of treating his post-traumatic stress disorder.



For Iraq veteran with post-traumatic stress, help never came
By Corinne Reilly
The Virginian-Pilot
© July 11, 2010

It’s the middle of the night when the phone rings in Virginia Beach. Half awake, Ozawa Skipper-Coleman rolls over and reaches to pick it up. On the other end, a woman is crying, trying to catch her breath.

Ozawa knows the voice, but she’s never heard it like this before.

“Yessenia?” she says to her daughter-in-law, who is calling from an Alaska Army base where Ozawa’s son Daryl is stationed. “What’s happening?”

Gulping and sobbing, Yessenia tells her they’d just finished putting the kids to bed when Daryl’s face suddenly changed. First he pushed her to the floor. Then he shoved a sock in her mouth and tried to tie her ankles with a length of rope. Soon he was splashing lighter fluid across the kitchen floor and all around the living room. He had the lighter in his fist when he seemed to snap back to reality.

Ozawa asks where her son is now. Yessenia answers that he left – just walked out the front door.

Heart Breaking

I hope these groups know of this story and have reached out.


http://www.ivaw.org/

http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/

http://www.mfso.org/

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/




I am sending the story to my Senator Al Franken. It is another of many.



Minnesota becomes second state to offer treatment to veterans who commit crimes

http://www.citypages.com/2008-05-21/news/minnesota-becomes-second-state-to-offer-treatment-to-veterans-who-commit-crimes

ast week, Minnesota became the second state in the nation to pass a sentence-mitigation bill for veterans facing criminal prosecution who suffer from combat related mental health disorders. Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed the bill into law the evening of May 12, meaning courts will now be allowed to consider treatment over incarceration. California passed a similar law in 2007.

The legislation, tucked into the Reentry Omnibus Bill, requires the courts to inquire whether a defendant facing criminal proceedings is a veteran. By establishing military service, attorneys can then order a psychological evaluation. If a veteran is found to be suffering from a combat related mental illness such as post-traumatic stress disorder, the courts will work with the Department of Veterans Affairs so that treatment can be considered as part of the sentencing.