Tag: PTSD

Every day at the homeless veterans shelter in Boston at ten in the morning there was a huge influx of vets.

Sunday marked the final troop withdrawal from Iraq which means that in the coming weeks and months U.S. soldiers will be returning home and many of them will be looking for work in the private sector.

Almost 20 years ago I met a combat Vietnam Veteran named Robert Van Keuren and his partner in crime Dr. Jon Nachison both advocates like me doing work for homeless veterans in San Diego.

A friend of mine called and said: We should try to find ways to advance ourselves with our allies and even our perceived enemies by sharing our knowledge of prosthetics.

The nation's defense is handled by less that 1/2% of the population.

I was searching the internet the other day and came across a story online about a group collecting money for homeless Veterans outside a shopping center.

Two VT columnists, one from America and one from Pakistan exchanged ideas, concepts and concerns. This posting reflects questions and answers that are important to both of our countries.

A little more help in understanding Vietnam

Republican Governor Rick Scott was also photographed passing out Thanksgiving dinners in an East Naples, Florida shelter, which fed 7,000 families during the holiday week. Scott said “I care completely about all these programs,” but reality is that his budget cuts “slashed funding to some veteran and farm surplus programs that helped the homeless.”

Iraq War Veteran Amber Stone, a native of Claremore, Okla., has always loved to write – from short stories to poems to journal entries and internet blogs.

Forget about Occupy Wall Street. My readers and other Veteran Advocates nationwide say "Occupy HUD" and ask How many Iraqi or Afghanistan Combat Wounded Veterans Live in HUD Subsidized or Disability Housing?

As my readers already know, I volunteer once a month for the Veterans Hotline. This is a two-hour commitment and I will be "On Station" from 5am to 7am, the third Monday of each month.

This week, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign has revealed itself to be ethically compromised at the highest level.

A new Veterans nonprofit, "Veterans Workshop" has begun their nationwide recruitment for Volunteers who can assist with answering calls from American Veterans via a new Veterans911 hot-line.

Last week we asked the Honorable Shawn L.S. Donovan, Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development of HUD, the following question "Where has the HUD Veteran Resource Center (HUDVET) been hiding during our nations housing crisis?"

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) researchers from Boston report in the November issue of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology that risk factors for posttraumatic stress symptomatology (PTSS, short of full-blown posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD) in Afghanistan and Iraq Veterans were found to be similar to those observed in Vietnam Veterans.

The Continental Marines were the Marine Force of the American Colonies during the American Revolutionary War.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has a "Homeless Veterans Reintegration Project" that is operated out of the office of the Assistant Secretary of Veterans Employment and Training.

I know people who work at HUD, one of the largest federal agencies in the country. HUD of course deals in housing, but also in homelessness.

Military suicides have increased since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a study conducted by the Center for a New American Security.

A veteran commits suicide every 80 minutes, according to a study published Monday.

The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Coach smartphone application, jointly developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD), is being honored today as one of seven recipients of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman’s Awards for Advancements in Accessibility.

The real tragedy actually was letting a psychologically unfit teenager like Gilad Shalit wear the military uniform in the first place.

On October 25, Secretary Shinseki was on hand to help dedicate the newest Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center in San Antonio. The $66 million facility will offer inpatient and outpatient care to Veterans and servicemembers who have suffered multiple injuries.

From the time of the United States Revolution through World War I, Veterans had legal access to cannabis; but in 1942 a few powerful men managed to have cannabis removed from the United States Formulary. Medical research has shown medical marijuana has been very successful in treating PTSD and it's symptoms.

Since our nations founding, America's Veterans have fought for our liberties contained within our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

I recently was invited by a good friend who lives in the Berkshire mountains of western Massachusetts to participate in a panel discussion about PTSD and TBI .

I must confess right upfront that this posting is a little self promotion. Well, kind of. Three months ago, a dear friend of mine that I have known for over 25-years contacted me with an urgent request concerning his son who had recently returned from Afghanistan.

After founding and then running a shelter for homeless veterans for a number of years, I began to see patterns of pathology among the clients.

On the 16th of September President Obama's administration refused to allow the FDA approved study of Veterans using medical marijuana for PTSD to have access to the DEA controlled federal medical marijuana supply effectively derailing the study .

In my latest issue of The Veteran Magazine (September-October 2011), from Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), is an excellent series of articles focused on PTSD.

VA has approved retroactive traumatic injury benefits to Service members who suffered qualifying injuries during the period Oct. 7, 2001 to Nov. 30, 2005, regardless of the geographic location where the injuries occurred.

It is estimated that 20 percent of returning U.S. troops will suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or major depression.

Many active duty folks and Veterans have an impressive sense of history. They can recall specific battles in World War II, name obsolete military equipment from past eras and fondly recall their relative’s own military experience.

Unless Israel changes the date again, Mordechai Vanunu will learn the Court's decision on October 3, 2011 if he will be allowed his inalienable right to leave the state. Here's hoping what Vanunu said in 2006 will not be a self-fulfilling prophecy.....

At Sunday's Veterans Press Conference, Rusty Rustan, a disabled Vietnam War Veteran from Orange County, spoke on behalf of Paralyzed Veterans Association and delivered a powerful message regarding Veterans suffering from PTSD and quoted Major General Smedley Butler, a World War I hero and two-time recipient of the Medal of Honor.

The terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001 impacted us all. For many people these reactions have lessened over time.

Every day, 18 Veterans commit suicide -- that's more than 6,500 a year, and more than twice the number who were killed during the September 11 attack ten years ago.

VA launched the telephone service, Coaching into Care, to provide assistance to family members and friends trying to encourage their Veteran to seek health care for possible readjustment and mental health issues.

This month, Dr. Kathryn Magruder, a VA researcher at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, S.C., begins a nine-month Fulbright Scholarship in Ankara, Turkey.

Suicide…the War on Poverty…Poverty won!

Sometimes problems seem like they are impossible to solve for a variety of different reasons. Sometimes we are not even fully aware a problem is building up…we just know something is wrong.