Still time to change the road you’re on, and heal

Not too late for Vietnam veterans to heal
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
December 6, 2017 

“Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run there’s still time to change the road you’re on.”Led Zeppelin

World War I to the first Gulf War -- "second-class veterans"
El Paso Times by Chris Roberts
October 2007

In the past 18 months, 148,000 Vietnam veterans have gone to VA centers reporting symptoms of PTSD "30 years after the war," said Brig. Gen. Michael S. Tucker, deputy commanding general of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He recently visited El Paso.

Two-tiered system of healthcare puts veterans of the war on terror at the top and makes everyone else -- from An internal directive from a high-ranking Veterans Affairs official creates a two-tiered system of veterans health care, putting veterans of the global war on terror at the top and making every one else -- from World War I to the first Gulf War -- "second-class veterans," according to some veterans advocates.

"I think they're ever pushing us to the side," said former Marine Ron Holmes, an El Paso resident who founded Veterans Advocates. "We are still in need. We still have our problems, and our cases are being handled more slowly."

Vice Adm. Daniel L. Cooper, undersecretary for benefits in the Department of Veterans Affairs -- in a memo obtained by the El Paso Times -- instructs the department's employees to put Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans at the head of the line when processing claims for medical treatment, vocational rehabilitation, employment and education benefits...

Veterans Affairs officials say prioritizing war-on-terror veterans is necessary because many of them face serious health challenges. But they don't agree that other veterans will suffer, saying that they are hiring thousands of new employees, finding ways to train them more quickly and streamlining the process of moving troops from active duty to veteran status.

"We are concerned about it, and it's something we are watching carefully," said Jerry Manar, deputy director national veterans service for Veterans of Foreign Wars in Washington, D.C. "We'll learn quickly enough from talking with our veterans service officers whether they're seeing a dramatic slowdown in the processing of claims."

Manar and Holmes said Afghanistan and Iraq veterans deserve the best care possible, but so do all other veterans.

Shocking? Not really. I posted it back in 2007 soon after El Paso Times reported it. The thing is, none of what has been happening to our "senior" veterans is new, even though it seems the rest of the country never noticed.

Our generation is pretty much on our own but the truly remarkable thing is, nothing the new generation has for them would have been possible if you did not come home and fight for all of it. 

As you read above, before most of the new groups paid any attention at all, you were fighting for a very long time, then had to get in line behind the newer veterans.

It is easy to wonder why none of these "awareness" raisers noticed any of it until the first VA Veteran Suicide report came out. Back then aside from the warning about the data being taken as "all there is to know" there was this being reported by the Washington Post

To account for uncertainties, researchers gave a range of 18 to 22 veteran suicides a day, which is consistent with previous VA estimates using CDC data. The report does not include some states with the largest veteran population (including California, Texas, Georgia, Arizona and North Carolina), so it is unclear how this would affect the rate.

But safe guess is that it was just an easy number for all of these groups to remember. Too bad they also forgot the other part of the report. 

Meaning that your generation was committing suicide at higher percentages. Why? Because back in 1999, there were over 5 million more veterans in the country. Yes, before the young veterans came back from Afghanistan and Iraq.

As they became the focus of the "project" of the famous group now playing a commercial about naming what PTSD used to be called, like during your generation, they omit the fact that you came home at a rate of 1 out of 3, instead of 1 out of 5. Oh, yes that same group that says how bad it is to be forgotten about. 

Guess they never heard of a study going back to the 70's called "The Forgotten Warrior Project" but none of you forgot about those who came before you any more than you forgot about those who came after you.

The question is, why do you fight so hard for everyone else but yourself?

Within all the reports from the VA, there is one part that stands out. 65% of the veterans committing suicide are over the age of 50.

Most of you are more involved with supporting the groups who want nothing to do with you. 

So when do you start fighting for each other again? 

It is not too late to change the road you're on, after all, that is the message you've been giving to younger veterans since you were younger!

Gerald Leo Smith, Homeless Korean War Veteran Needs Help Proving He's Alive

Daytona Beach homeless veteran says he can't get help because government thinks he's dead

WFTV 9 News

By: Lauren Seabrook

Updated: Dec 5, 2017 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - When Teri Ahmann found Gerald Leo Smith living in the bushes in Daytona Beach as Hurricane Irma loomed, she saw a bit of herself in him, having been homeless herself three decades ago.

She decided to reach out to the Navy veteran and offered to buy him a drink.

“For whatever reason, he just looked sad to me, so I walked up and I say, ‘Can I get you a beer?’” Ahmann said.

She then asked Smith where he was planning to shelter during the hurricane.

“He said he didn’t know,” Ahmann said. “He was going to go where God told him to go.”

Ahmann decided to take Smith in and soon learned that he served in the Navy during the Korean War and had been walking the streets for more than three decades.

She helped Smith clean up, bought him new clothes and even tried to open a bank account in his name.

That’s where they realized they had a problem.
read more here

Vietnam Veteran Donated 37 Gallons of His Blood to Save Lives

Florida veteran saves hundreds of lives by donating 37 gallons of blood

WKRN News

December 5, 2017

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — OneBlood helps save thousands of lives every year but it isn’t possible without donors.

“In life, I like to help people,” said one donor, Richard Davis.

Davis has been donating blood for 25 years. He’s a Vietnam veteran who witnessed a blood shortage and wanted to help.

“A lot of people needed blood badly at that time. That was the first time I ever donated,” said Davis.

Since then, you can find him in the donor room – kicked back, donating blood and watching TV.

“Well the platelets you can actually donate every week but you can only do it 24 times a year which is a lot of times,” said Davis.

A lot of times, and a lot of blood. Davis is just grateful he can help.

read more here

ACLU Fighting For Incarcerated PTSD Veteran

I was reading an article from The Stranger. Since I only track news and government reports, I did a search to see if this was real or not. It is. 

The following is from the ACLU

ACLU-WA Sues to Stop Pierce County from Abusing and Neglecting Incarcerated Individuals Experiencing Mental Illness
December 5, 2017

The ACLU of Washington today filed a class-action lawsuit against Pierce County for refusing to provide necessary treatment to people with mental illness in the Pierce County Jail and subjecting them to illegal restraint and isolation practices. As a result of these unlawful actions, people with mental illness suffer unnecessarily while in the jail, and can spend years cycling in and out of the criminal justice system.

“It’s cruel, counterproductive, and illegal for jails to refuse people experiencing mental illness the treatment they need,” said ACLU-WA Equal Justice Works Fellow Jessica Wolfe.

“Pierce County punishes people for their mental illnesses while at the same time refusing to provide basic mental health services. These policies and practices cause significant psychological harm and contribute to a revolving door of incarceration that is both costly and ineffective,” Wolfe said.

Filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma on behalf of people experiencing mental illnesses incarcerated in Pierce County Jail, the lawsuit—Bango et. al v. Pierce County—asserts that people are forced to wait months to see a mental health provider face-to-face, experience significant delays in receiving necessary medications, and are denied basic mental health services, despite repeated requests for treatment.

As a result, their mental illnesses progress unchecked, leading to hallucinations, delusions, and an increased risk of self-harm. Pierce County then punishes people experiencing mental health crises by placing them in solitary confinement, using eyebolts to chain their legs and arms to the concrete floor, and leaving them in restraint chairs for hours on end. Pierce County perpetuates this vicious cycle by releasing people directly into the community without a supply of their psychiatric medications. Due to their untreated illnesses, many will end up back at the Jail.

The suit was filed on behalf of two plaintiffs with mental illness who have suffered serious harm due to the Pierce County’s abusive practices and failure to provide treatment: Donald Bango served in the US military for 15 years and has received a Bronze Star and a Meritorious Service Medal. Mr. Bango was medically retired from the military due to mental health issues stemming from the violence he witnessed during his service in Iraq. He has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder, and panic disorder. 

As a result of his mental illnesses, Mr. Bango experiences visual and auditory hallucinations, delusions, and flashbacks. Mr. Bango’s mental health has deteriorated significantly since his booking into the Pierce County Jail due to Defendants’ unwillingness to provide medically necessary psychiatric medications, access to mental health providers, and other basic mental health services. 

Defendants have also placed Mr. Bango in solitary confinement and left him naked and alone in a cell with his arms handcuffed behind his back. Despite Mr. Bango’s ongoing concerns about falling into further mental health crisis or psychosis, his requests for psychiatric medications have repeatedly been denied by Defendants, who have informed him that he did “not meet the requirements” for mental health care and told him to stop requesting services. 

Scott Bailey has been diagnosed with major depression, experiences anxiety, and has a history of suicide attempts. Mr. Bailey has been incarcerated at the Pierce County Jail approximately eight times, dating back to 1999. Defendants have routinely failed to adequately screen Mr. Bailey’s mental health conditions, mental health history, or use of psychiatric medications. Further, Defendants have failed to provide him with timely access to basic mental health services, despite his repeated requests. Defendants have responded to his pleas for help by informing him that the Jail was “not set up to do treatment” and denying him psychiatric medications and counseling. In lieu of treatment, Mr. Bailey received “mental health worksheets” instructing him to get enough sleep and exercise more.

Pierce County’s failure to appropriately supervise the Jail to prevent the abuse of the most vulnerable in their care is unlawful and inhumane. “The goal of the lawsuit is to compel Pierce County to do what they refuse to do: ensure incarcerated individuals with mental illness are treated humanely and receive necessary mental health treatment and services,” says ACLU-WA Senior Staff Attorney Antoinette Davis.

The suit asserts Pierce County Jail violates the constitutional right to due process and the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment, along with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act.

Pierce County Jail’s policy and practices continue despite decades of notice about these problems, including prior litigation, Herrera v. County, brought by the ACLU-WA and others in 1995. In settlement of that suit, Pierce County was required to adopt constitutional medical care standards, policies, and procedures.

ACLU-WA Equal Justice Works Fellow Jessica Wolfe and Senior Staff Attorney Antoinette Davis and cooperating attorneys, Salvador Mungia and Janelle Chase-Fazio of Gordon Thomas Honeywell, are representing the Plaintiffs.

Pulse Heroic Officer Out of Job Because of PTSD?

UPDATE
Eatonville officer who saved victims during Pulse attack still losing job, but will get pension
By: WFTV Web Staff UPDATE

UPDATE

Community raises funds for Pulse first responder with PTSD who's losing jobPeople from across the world have raised more than $30,000 for a Pulse first responder with post-traumatic stress disorder who is being terminated by the Eatonville Police Department.  
Cpl. Omar Delgado was left with severe PTSD after being one of the first officers to respond to the mass shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse on June 12, 2016. The massacre left 49 people dead and more than 68 wounded, including survivor Angel Colón, whom Delgado dragged out of the club. read more here

What kind of a message does this send to First Responders across the country?

“I guess I’m being punished, because I did cry for help,” Delgado said.

What kind of message does this send to veterans with PTSD and the troops still afraid to speak up about needing help?

These are the same people who risk their lives for everyone else, and now they are still risking their own lives because they do not get the help they need when they need it!

After you read this story, maybe you can explain how this is still happening?

9 Investigates: Pulse hero let go from Eatonville Police Department

WFTV News
Karla Ray
December 4, 2017

“I was able to save Angel, and I wouldn't trade it for the world, but now I suffer through my agony,” Delgado told Ray about his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

EATONVILLE, Fla. - 9 Investigates learned an Eatonville Police officer, who was called a hero after pulling Pulse survivor Angel Colon to safety during the June 2016 attack, is now being let go from his department. 

Investigative Reporter Karla Ray obtained a town resolution that is being voted on during an upcoming meeting, that would pay out some of officer Omar Delgado’s accrued sick time.  It states that his last day will be December 31.

No one from the town would comment on the reason for separation, but Delgado told 9 Investigates he believes he’s being pushed out due to his PTSD.  He admits that an evaluation showed he was unfit for duty, and the town will not allow him to stay on light duty.

Delgado has been with the department for nine and a half years, putting him just shy of the tenure he needs to receive retirement benefits from the town.
read more here

UPDATE
This story got to me and good time to remind folks what happens when they do not get help after taking care of us.

This is from yesterday,

BRIDGEPORT, CT — Police are investigating after a Bridgeport police officer is suspected to have committed suicide in Seaside Park, reports the Connecticut Post. There was a heavy police presence at the park for nearly two hours after a man was found unresponsive in his silver car with city of Bridgeport license plates.

And this is how 2017 started

Second cop commits suicide on Staten Island this month 

About two weeks ago, NYPD Officer Yong Yun — a former borough cop of the month...

Sgt. Freddy Dietz Jr., 53, had been with SAPD since 1983. He served as the city jailer when the SAPD had its own jail.

His father, Fred Dietz Sr., also was an SAPD officer, beginning in 1966 and retiring as a lieutenant in 1997. 

His father said he was struggling to understand the situation. He said his son loved being a police officer and helped a lot of people during his career.

*******

According to Karen Solomon, founder of Blue HELP, which raises awareness of officer suicide and advocates for mental health benefits, six police officers have died from suicide in Massachusetts in 2017. Another five Massachusetts officers died from suicide in 2016, compared with two killed in the line of duty.

*******

After Derek Fish finished his patrol last Friday afternoon, the sheriff’s deputy drove his cruiser to his department’s regional headquarters in Columbia, S.C., and parked in the back.It had, for all purposes, been a normal shift, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott would later say.Fish had answered calls. Made an arrest. Written a report.“And then, for some unknown reason, he did what he did,” Lott said.Using his service weapon, Fish killed himself inside his patrol car.The deputy was 28. He didn’t leave a note.

******* 

An off-duty police officer fatally shot himself at his Queens home Sunday afternoon, police said.The 37-year-old male officer, whose name has not been released, was found dead before 3 p.m. at 113th Ave. by 205th St. in St. Albans, police said.Not including Sunday’s death, four active NYPD officers committed suicide this year, according to NYPD stats. 

In 2016, four officers and one school safety agent killed themselves.

******* 

A 47-year-old Chicago police officer was found dead Sunday in a possible suicide, two years after her sergeant husband appeared to take his own life under mysterious circumstances.Cops say Dina Markham was found by a family member in her bathtub on Sunday after taking pills, the Chicago Tribune reported. Her death is being investigated as a suicide.

Montana Veterans "Hero Sound Project"

Hero Sound Project helps Montana veterans heal through music
KRTV News
December 4, 2017

MISSOULA - Statistics show that roughly 10% of Montanans are veterans and for some, dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a pressing issue.

The Treasure State lost 53 veterans to suicide in 2016, but a project in Missoula is working to reduce that number. The Hero Sound Project features a group of veterans who meet weekly to help mend the mind through music.

The music being played in the basement of the Zootown Arts Community Center (ZACC) is helping to heal the psychological wounds of war. The Hero Sound Project is the brainchild of Iraq war veteran Clinton Decker who had an idea to help those struggling with the trauma of war.

“When I'm playing guitar nothing else really matters and it just kind of hit me one day this is really powerful stuff it's really helping me," Decker said.

“This is proven to be invaluable. it's been great stress relief, it's great for camaraderie. We just come here and have fun," said veteran Daniel Coleman. "There's no expectations anybody can come and play it doesn't matter if you plan instrument and we'll teach you.”

" Guys might walk in the door and, you know, might not be having a great day or whatever. But usually by halfway through everybody's loosened up and enjoying themselves and shrugged off whatever it is they brought in," Decker explained.

When the project was started two years ago, it was held in the back of the VFW bar in Missoula. "We're the back of the bar. I want this to be a legitimate therapeutic program. [So] we gotta get out of a bar," Decker recalled.
read more here

New Hampshire Homeless Veterans in Tiny Homes Being Evicted

update Retired Marine who Fought to House Homeless Vets Has Died

Foster's Daily Democrat, Dover, N.H. 
By Kyle Stucker 
October 6, 2019 

Veterans and loved ones laid Peter Macdonald to rest this week, one week after the 67-year-old succumbed to metastatic esophageal cancer and service-related disabilities. Macdonald is best remembered as a local advocate for veterans, drawing from his own life experiences to shelter homeless veterans at his Veteran Resort Chapel in Lee, New Hampshire. read it here

Homeless veterans being evicted from Veteran Resort Chapel in Lee

Union Leader
Kimberley Haas
December 3, 2018


LEE - Homeless combat veterans are being evicted from Veteran Resort Chapel in Lee.

There are still three homeless combat veterans living at Veteran Resort Chapel in Lee after eviction notices went out last week. (Kimberley Haas/Sunday News file photo)

Proprietor Peter Macdonald, a Marine, said he needs to sell the property to pay his legal costs. Macdonald was fined $70,675 last month by Judge Mark Howard at Strafford County Superior Court because he violated town regulations and continued to add tiny homes on his property at 101 Stepping Stones Road. The post-judgment attachment on the property is payable within three months, according to court documents.

Macdonald said Friday he also is on the hook for about $25,000 in legal fees to reimburse lawyers who argued against him in civil court.

The 8-by-10-foot structures on Macdonald's property do not have septic systems, and the town's attorney, Justin Pasay, said Macdonald does not have building, electrical or plumbing permits for the units.
read more here

Navy Veteran Wins Claim for Parkinson's Tied to Agent Orange...In New Zealand

Navy veteran who won compensation battle after linking his Parkinson's to chemical exposure speaks out for first time

NZ Herald

Kurt Bayer

December 5, 2017 (New Zealand)

A New Zealand navy veteran who won a compensation battle after successfully linking his Parkinson's disease to chemical exposure in the 1960s has spoken out for the first time about the fumes he likened to solvent abuse.

A Navy veteran has spoken out for the first time about the chemical exposure he experienced during his service. Photo / File

He says despite suffering neurological pain in the 1970s after working with toxic chemicals on assignment both here and overseas, he was told to "get on with it" and that it was all in his head.

It comes after a Herald investigation found hundreds, if not thousands, of New Zealanders may have been affected by the toxic chemical trichloroethylene (TCE) in a wide range of workplaces over several decades.

In a potentially-landmark case, Veterans Affairs' has provided the ex-serviceman, who wants to remain anonymous, with an entitlement to disability compensation for Parkinson's, a condition attributed to his operational service on a Royal New Zealand Navy ship during the 1948-1960 Malayan Emergency.

read more here

Habitat for Humanity Teams Up For Generations of Veterans

Habitat For Humanity Of South Palm Beach Holds Veterans Build

Delray News

Staff Report

December 4, 2017

Delray Beach family members, veterans and neighbors now have spruced up homes thanks to Habitat for Humanity of South Palm Beach, Vertical Bridge and the Home Depot Foundation.

The homeowners, who are cousins living on the same Delray Beach street, are also members of the military. They have seen many wars including serving in WWII, Iraq and the youngest currently stationed in Germany, spanning three generations of service.

They are 92-year-old WWII Veteran Albert Green who served 41 years in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Merchant Marines stationed in the Pacific Rim during WWII in the Steward Department and Sedric Doughty, who 17 served years in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Navy Reserve and U.S. Air Force Reserve stationed in Japan as military police officer (final rank E-5) and saw active duty in the Iraq and Afghanistan War. Sedric’s son, 18-year-old Sedric Jr. who lives with him in the home passed down from Sedric’s mom, currently serves in the U.S. Army stationed in Germany.

Made possible by a $35,000 gift from presenting sponsor Boca-based Vertical Bridge with $32,000 in grant funding from Home Depot Foundation, more than 100 volunteers from both companies transformed their homes in honor of Veterans Day.

read more here

Florida First Responders Fighting PTSD Comp

Florida bills could allow first responders to get workers' comp for PTSD

WPTV 5 News

Amy Lipman

December 2, 2017

"I started to withdraw from family, friends," Wallwork said. "Further and further from any social interaction. Hyper vigilance. I was always worried about bad things happening."Wallwork has worked in fire rescue for 28 years. He was diagnosed with PTSD two years ago.

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. - First responders run toward danger, risk their lives and witness tragedy first-hand, but if all of that results in mental distress, they can't get workers' compensation for it under current Florida law.

“We see things that you can only imagine in a movie and then we’re expected to get right back on the truck, go to the next call without time to process it," said Pete Wallwork, who suffers from PTSD as a result of his career as a firefighter.

read more here