Recently I read several reports that outlined just how poor a job our government is doing in providing benefits and treatment for our returning veterans. There is an incredible backlog in processing disability claims, which can take 6-9 months, and several years if they are denied. There have been many denials for mental health claims, simply because the veteran could not provide exact days and times of certain contributing factors that they attributed to their condition. In 2010 there were 22 suicides per day in the military, and in 2012 here were more deaths from suicide than there was from combat.
The government sent these soldiers of to fight two wars, without totally understanding the problems that would be associated with it, concerning debilitating injuries and mental health issues. Medical science has allowed many soldiers to survive injuries that in previous wars they usually died from, and this was either an oversight of major proportions, or an insidious "who cares" from our leaders.
In response to the failures of our government to adequately address these issues, I drafted a petition that will demand that Congress provide immediate and adequate funding to ensure our veterans are getting the help they so desperately and rightly deserve. How that money is ultimately spent, should be decided by people who understand the complexities and breadth of this issue for better than the lay person. I adamantly believe we owe our veterans the best we can provide; they gave to this nation, the nation needs to give back,
Subject: Demand better and more timely care for our veterans.
Hi,
I created a petition to The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate, and President Barack Obama which says:
"The United States sends our veterans to war, and when our veterans return home with mental health issues, such as PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), the government fails miserably in providing adequate and timely health services and compensation. From Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, our veterans deserve better. Whatever resources are needed to streamline treatment, claims processing, and counseling, we need to demand that Congress provide emergency priority funding, giving our best to those who gave their best for us. "
Will you sign this petition? Click here:
http://petitions.moveon.org/...
Thanks!