womenvets

With more than 180,000 New Mexico veterans, it’s no wonder there is a lot of interest in what kind of treatment is available (sadly, does it work? seems irrelevant) for soldiers coming home from war(s), and now (finally?!) homeless in Albuquerque have some assistance available.
The newly relocated Veterans Integration Center is at 13001 Central Ave., NE, and offers food, clothing, medical checkups, hot meals, legal help, and other assistance for homeless veterans.  Thanks goodness, just in time for winter.
Started last week with a stand-down (used in war to denote a safe haven for combat soldiers), the program is sponsored by the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services, headed by the committed John Garcia, and the state’s Department of Workforce Solutions,  that can assist with employment preparation, too.
It is a timely report as this week President Barack Obama is considering requests for upward of more than 40,000 more soldiers to the join the already 68,000 soldiers fighting overseas. It’s a decision Obama said he does not take lightly. Meanwhile, polls show more Americans are getting sick of this war in Afghanistan (not new since we have been there for more than eight years anyway).
Without a stable government, little help from allies and the United Nations, and brewing unrest in surrounding countries i.e. Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, how much “help” can America soldiers keep giving?
Also, this week,  Robert Gates, U.S. Secretary of Defense cited a Rand Corp. study that estimates 600,000 soldiers will return from war with mental issues, PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury et al.
I don’t believe Americans really understand the ramifications of more than half-a-million soldiers returning to our communities with intense mental health problems.
Around the area there are various groups touting treatment methods for veterans, from light therapy, to hyperbaric chamber treatments to intense, accelerated mental psychologist treatments.  As a veteran, and one who touts the “socialized” medicine of the Veterans Affairs, reportedly there are six-month waiting periods for psychiatric counseling in most of America. 
That is a travesty especially when our president just announced this week that efforts will be stepped up to ensure returning soldiers are treated promptly. For some, the help will be too little too late. There are studies all over the country of returning battalion members being involved in escalating crimes once they return from war. How can we expect our young men and women to experience the horrors of war and come back as if nothing happened?
One thing all Americans can do is remember they are fighting war(s). Get involved with groups that send care packages to soldiers. Or Dear Abby has a program to ensure every soldier receives a holiday card.
One local effort is The Letters home Project headed by Sarah L. Coca. She collects any sort of design, and makes her own cards for the soldiers. She had every holiday imaginable covered, and is always accepting more supplies. She also has packets available for community civic groups can get its own packages of pre-made recycled cards. For more information e-mail Sarah at the lettershomeproject@yahoo.com.

Boo!

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