Social Work With Veterans
In the United States there are currently more than 2.7 million veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Each year these military members return home from war only to face obstacles such as unemployment, medical and mental health issues, and homelessness. Social workers are dedicated to the men and women who have served and are currently serving our country and the VA employs more social workers than any other U.S. agency (Malai, 2015). Social workers are continuously working with social service programs whose goal is eliminate homelessness in the veteran community, combat unemployment in the post-deployed, and provide outstanding medical and mental health care through VA programs.
Homelessness among veterans affects
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In 2010, the VA also launched the End Veteran Homelessness initiative. The program is designed to find adequate housing for veterans currently homeless and to help eliminate the risk of veterans loosing their homes in the future. Within this initiative, social workers work with the homeless to find housing and employment that will set them up for financial stability. Additionally, social workers work with veterans to identify risk factors that could potentially lead to homelessness and refer services and programs to eliminate this …show more content…
One of the most common mental health illnesses within the veteran population is posttraumatic stress disorder, commonly referred to as PTSD. It is estimated that between eleven and twenty percent of veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom suffer to some degree from PTSD in a given year (Gradus, 2015). Social workers maintain a wealth of knowledge regarding programs and services that are aimed at combating the effects of PTSD in order to provide accurate and useful referrals. Additionally, they also work in conjunction with these programs acting in such capacities as case managers, program managers, counselors, and teachers. Social Work Today (2007) suggests that for clinical social workers over the next 10 years, combat-related stress disorders will affect every institution, hospital, and private practice in the United States. One such program where social workers are being utilized in treating PTSD is at Walter Reed Medical Center. According to the Deployment Health Clinical
According to National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV), the likely persistence of this problem is evident on considering that the homeless veterans are identified to be younger on average in comparison to the entire veteran population. Among these, 9 percent is made up of those aged between 18 and 30, while 41 percent are in the 31-50 years bracket. Nevertheless, veterans in the 18-30 age bracket make up only 5 percent while those aged 31 to 50 make less than 23 percent. Notably, the exact figure of the homeless veterans may be impossible to establish considering the difficulty posed by the transient nature of such populations. However, estimates by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development indicate that there are 49,933 homeless veterans at any given night.
Many people around the world are homeless and majority of them are homeless veterans that served in wars like the vietnam war. The age range for veterans are usually in their 50 and 60’s and the numbers are increasing rapidly. In 2016 january ,communities in america identified 39,471 homeless veterans during the point in time. Veterans homelessness should be because and should be honored because of what they do for our country and they are heroes.
Veterans and our soldiers are coming home from war or getting out of the military and when they get home they can’t afford rent or they have a mental disease from war. Homeless veterans tend to experience homelessness longer than non-veteran homeless. This should not be happening to our soldiers. This is very undesirable for our troops to come home and becoming homeless. They fight for our freedom and our rights and we repay them by becoming homeless.
Is it the stresses of war and inadequate job training? In addition, could it be untreated PTSD that keeps veterans from being productive once back in civilian life, thus causing the risk of homelessness? PTSD is one of the leading problems leading to homelessness among our veterans. As a veteran, myself, I understand the day to day struggles to come to grips with some things that were experienced as a soldier. For example, seeing fellow soldiers shot or killed, or the people you’re there to help turn on you, it’s a living nightmare.
I chose this topic because there seems to be a growing epidemic of homeless veterans in our country. This is very sad when you think of how those men and women voluntarily signed up to serve. There are so many Americans that live by the slogan “Land of the Free because of the Brave” yet, you have so many brave men and women eating out of garbage cans and sleeping under bridges. According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans there are several factors that contributed to displacement of veterans such as shortage of affordable housing, low income, and inadequately healthcare. As well as the lack of family and social support not to mention the returning home wounded veterans suffering with the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression
One of the main causes of homeless veterans is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD. “ is a medical problem where
The film American Sniper tells the story of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in American history. Kyle was born in raised in Texas, he spent his time traveling in the rodeo circuit as a saddle bronc rider. After the bombing in southwest Africa, Kyle decided to serve his country. Not only did he join the military, he joined the elite Navy SEALS team as sniper. Shortly after completing his SEALS training, Kyle met and married his wife Taya.
Veteran Benefits The issue of veteran benefits in the United States is not taken as seriously as it should be in our country, even though it is a growing problem that needs to be addressed. The lack of available funding for veterans is especially obvious when compared to that available for lower income citizens, or even illegal immigrants. Also, what does exist appears to fall short in taking care of veteran’s needs. Considering that these veterans are people who have risked their lives fighting for this country, the fact that they are not receiving immediate benefits or even what they have earned is unfair.
It makes some people believe that the government is not caring about the veterans and are focusing on some other issue. There are multiple factors that can lead a veteran to become homeless. One of the biggest issues is “The psychic wounds caused by combat will reverberate over the coming years and in some cases lead to homelessness.”(Peck). In Peck view, the main cause of veterans becoming homeless is because of the injuries the troops might have received during combat. In his eyes, the brave men and women are not receiving the best quality treatment and support.
Veterans are some of the bravest men and women that you will ever know. They fought for our country in our most desperate hours and risked their lives so we could have the chance to live ours. It is such a shame that they are ignored and even homeless in today 's society. I had wondered how we could get veterans of the street and back into the job world. After research I found that there are programs and methods put in place specifically to help these struggling veterans.
Nearly 20 percent of 30,000 suicides are attributed to veterans each year (Cesar, Sabia & Tekin, 2012). This number represents a substantial number of military personnel suffering with mental health problems. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (2011) PTSD impairs one’s ability to function in social or family life, which includes instability, marital problems, divorce, family conflict, and difficulty in parenting (p. 3). PTSD causes much impairment and has many contributing factors; for that reason, it is important to discuss the quality of services available to
Veterans with PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) have a high risk of becoming homeless. Homelessness is cause by drug and alcohol dependencies, the economy and veterans who suffers from PTSD or other forms of mental illness. When one parent or both parents lose their jobs, it is a domino effect. About 1.4 million students were
Secondly, some veterans will come back from war and if they were shot or experienced heavy damage to the head, they can have severe brain injuries and when they’re homeless and they don’t have much help, that can be horrible for the homeless veterans. Lastly, while veterans are fighting in wars, if they get shot or a grenade goes
The US has grappled with many questions about society’s obligations as to whether or not to offer services and benefits to the men and women in the armed forces. Supporters argue that helping veterans will help the society as whole and opponents argue that we shouldn’t be increasing our federal government spending in repaying veterans. Although I do see where people can argue that we are spending too much money on helping veterans after war, I believe that the government owes them for what they have done for the country, despite the cost. The government owes certain benefits to veterans because the men and women in the armed forces deserve to be welcomed home with a generous system of services for what they have done for the country. Helping veterans goes way back all the way to the 1600s.
In the United States, serving in the military is seen as a model of true patriotism, and rightfully so. Service members train for 10 weeks in their transition from civilian to a soldier. They train to be able to endure all the hardships that may come their way. Service members have to be in the best physical shape to serve and because of all that they do, they are thought of as brave and selfless people. Service members make extreme sacrifices to defend our country and act selflessly by doing so; it is fitting that they are seen as heroes by many Americans.