New York soldier fought in Iraq and Afghanistan...and in his neighborhood?

Army member allegedly ‘shoots up’ block with AR-15 claiming wife cheated

New York Post
By Andrew Denney, Joseph Konig and Aaron Feis
January 12, 2020

“He was very calm,” the neighbor added. “He took the gun apart, left it on the porch and called the cops on himself.”

Harold Beard's Dyker Heights home. Kevin C Downs for the New York Post

A US Army member turned his quiet Brooklyn block into a shooting range, firing his AR-15 into his own car and a neighbor’s home while accusing his wife of infidelity, authorities allege.

Harold Beard, a veteran of campaigns in both Iraq and Afghanistan, allegedly pointed his assault rifle out of the second-floor window of his Dyker Heights home at around 12:30 a.m. on Jan. 7, squeezing off at least 29 rounds, officials said.

“My wife is cheating on me,” Beard, 28, told responding cops, according to a criminal complaint. “I have an AR-15, I shot at my car, I shot it out of the window.”

No injuries were reported, but two rounds punched into Beard’s Cadillac as more sailed across 82nd Street and blew out a pair of windows at a neighbor’s home, authorities said.
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Voices unite to fight mental health crisis

Mental health crisis: We must speak with one powerful voice in 2020

The Hill
BY FORMER REP. PATRICK KENNEDY (D-R.I.), OPINION CONTRIBUTOR
01/13/20

The systemic change we need to address our nation’s mental health crisis truly will not happen unless families, advocates, providers, and policymakers unite in support of a roadmap for change — and demand action from elected leaders.

For many, the start of a new year represents a clean slate — a chance to take stock of what truly matters in life and course correct in search of a better path.

Human resiliency is a powerful thing. Mental health and addiction professionals often say it’s why they do what they do. People can recover from their challenges and go on to lead productive, meaningful lives.

But resiliency alone is not enough for the one in six Californians who have a mental health condition or the 2.7 million Californians who meet the criteria for a substance use disorder. Access to quality, evidence-based care, and community support are equally as important.

However, as Californians know all too well, such care and support are not always easy to come by, often leading to tragic outcomes. Overdose deaths from opioids and methamphetamines continue to devastate families across the state. Suicide is now the second leading cause of death for Californians age 18-34.

Jails and prisons serve as de facto “treatment centers” for some, and homelessness has hit epidemic proportions, primarily due to a combination of untreated mental health and substance use disorders and California’s affordable housing crisis.

Many who seek care using private health insurance face enormous roadblocks. A recent report by the actuarial firm Milliman found huge out-of-network utilization disparities between mental health/addiction and medical/surgical care for inpatient facilities, outpatient facilities, and office visits.

This means insured individuals are paying more out-of-pocket for mental health/addiction care than they are for medical care — mostly because health plans continue to reimburse mental health/addiction providers far less than their primary care/specialist counterparts, causing those providers to stop accepting insurance altogether.
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Take the time to add your voice to this fight! I did! Go to Mental Health For US

EMS workers suffer trauma too

Cleveland EMS workers suffer trauma, too — so why won’t city help its helpers?

The Plain Dealer
By Andrea Simakis
January 12, 2020

Chuck followed them, fighting the tears building in his eyes. Then it was on to the next call.

Former Cleveland paramedic Charles Cali sits in his kitchen January 8, 2019. Cali left his job because the city won't agree to common sense mental health protections for its EMS workers. Gus Chan, The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio — When the call came in, paramedic Chuck Cali and his partner hoped it was a mistake, or some feeble attempt to get the fire department there faster: “Neighbors report there’s a man on fire walking down the street.”

Then they turned a corner.

He was just standing there, not waving his hands or yelling. All his hair had been burned away. So had his clothes. Naked and still smoldering, everything that had made him recognizable was gone. Everything but his wide eyes.

“Am I going to die?”

As he spoke, part of his lip broke and flaked off.

The 23-year-old had suffered more burns than the decorated Cleveland paramedic had seen on some cadavers, and yet here he was, talking to them.

He wouldn’t tell them who had tied him up and set him on fire. If he told, they’d promised to do the same to everyone in his family.

“Please call my Dad.”

“Not now,” Chuck answered. “We need to get you to the hospital.”

A doctor took one look at him and declared him dead. “He’s still talking, sir,” Chuck replied. Three nurses left the room, crying.

Chuck followed them, fighting the tears building in his eyes. Then it was on to the next call.

There was no time to decompress, to make sure their heads were clear enough to treat the next critical patient.
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39 Army Rangers are women!

Pennsylvania female soldier breaks barriers

21 News
by Brian Sheehan
January 9th 2020

While Farber is the first National Guard member in Pennsylvania to enlist and graduate, 38 other women from across the county are also U.S. Army Rangers.

As the United States military continues moving towards gender equality in the workforce, more women are serving in combat positions.

Sgt. Danielle Farber is the first female National Guard soldier in Pennsylvania who enlisted and graduated U.S. Army Ranger School.

In 2013, the Pentagon lifted the ban on women serving in combat positions.

Farber graduated in December.

She’s originally from Chester County, but is stationed at Fort Indiantown Gap where she currently works as a medic.
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Phoenix Vietnam Veteran had to turn to news station for help with PTSD from the VA

Veteran reached out to ABC15 after failing to get an appointment at the Phoenix VA

ABC 15 News
By: Sonu Wasu
Jan 11, 2020

“I don’t know what to do. You just feel lost. You’re alone,” said Ortman.
For Ortman, it’s been one disappointment after another since he got home from Vietnam. First he had to deal with the pain of seeing friends who didn’t make it home, then a homecoming he did not expect.

PHOENIX — Valley veteran, William Ortman, said he feels helpless and let down by the Phoenix VA healthcare system.

Ortman reached out to ABC15 to say that he has been trying to get an appointment with a mental healthcare counselor since November and all he got was the run around.

First, he was told his paperwork was lost and he would be outsourced to an outside healthcare facility due to a shortage of available counselors.

He was then told that a doctor forgot to sign off on his paperwork just to get him to go in for an assessment before they could sign off on any paperwork.

Ortman is one of the several veterans or veteran’s family members who reached out to ABC15 over the last few months, saying they feel let down by the VA healthcare system. Some of those veterans have since died by suicide. read it here