Bringhurst 1

Alexa Bringhurst

Jackie Burr

English 2010 Period 2

18 April 2018

Report

Significant commitments have been made by the American people to support the men

and women who have served for our country. Countless charities have been created and billions

of dollars have been received to assist veterans and their families. The federal government has

also allocates a lot of money and effort in to helping our veterans once they return home with a

large investment into services such as health care, education and training programs for

employment.

There is a strong desire to help those who have served our country in an effort to show

gratitude for their sacrifice. Because we feel indebted and such a strong desire to help it is not

really questioned how the government goes about helping them. So little attention is paid to

whether the efforts are doing more harm than good. There is suspicion that in some cases some

of the programs are preventing veterans from leading healthy and productive lives as civilians

once they return home.

Veterans deal with a variety of issues resulting from being in battle, a prevailing

condition that plagues veterans is PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder. Some of the lessor

conditions consist of ringing in the ears, partial hearing loss, arthritis and lower back pain. All of

which are considered “disabilities” in the VA system (Veterans Affairs). While not all of these
 Bringhurst 2

disabilities are debilitating in the way that most Americans think, they are considered a disability

in the VA system. A condition that is extremely difficult for the veterans to cope with is the

PTSD. Symptoms and complaints of PTSD can be flashbacks and dreams/nightmares from a

traumatic event, avoidance, anxiety, depression and numbing. Many veterans who have been on

the front lines of battle suffer from PTSD however to receive compensation and help for the

disorder a veteran must experience some level of social or occupational impairment, the most

serious being a 100% rating. Eight years ago two changes were implemented regarding

diagnosis and treatment making it easier for veterans to get assistance; A veteran is no longer

required to actually experience a first hand a traumatic event, because PTSD can come from a

multitude of things, particularly the persistent fear of the enemy or the threat of terrorist activity;

Second, the VA activity pursues veterans who might have PTSD to help them be diagnosed. A

positive result of these changes are more veterans are getting much needed treatment.

Thankfully many veterans who are classified as “disabled” are in fact really able to enjoy active

and productive lives.

Homelessness is another battle some of the veterans face once they return back to the

homeland, roughly 40,000 veterans are homeless on any given night, exact statistics are hard to

obtain because of their transient nature. A large number of displaced and at-risk veterans live

with lingering effects of PTSD, substance abuse, lack of support networks and family. Some of

the skills, talents and job responsibilities that the veterans utilize while serving don’t always

transfer to the civilian workforce, which can sometimes make it difficult for them to obtain a job.

Additional factors to veteran homelessness are a shortage of affordable housing and household

income. The VA also has programs in place to assist with housing, they use their own resources
 Bringhurst 3

and have partnerships and has secured nearly 15,000 transitional and rehab beds and more than

30,000 beds throughout the nation. It is believed that in order to assist the homeless veterans as

best as possible that focus needs to be put on helping them obtain jobs, offer a supportive

environment that is safe, clean, secure and free of drugs and alcohol. A program that has seen

much success is the “Veterans helping Veterans” groups, these groups offer and work best when

transitional housing is offered with the camaraderie of living with other veterans in a structured,

substance- free environment. While government money is great, it is limited and other services

are often at capacity, so it is extremely important for the community groups to step in and help

provide support. Veterans who participate in programs such as that are afforded more services

and have a higher chance of becoming self sufficient, productive citizens again.

George Wilmot, a veteran who fought in Iraq War, he was a gunner who traveled in the

Humvees. Initially the Humvees didn’t have any armor on them so armored the up with thick

steel plates…that fixed the armor issue but it then created and issue with stopping the original

brakes did not have the capacity to stop good with the added armor. “While taking some small

arms fire...my driver took us off a cliff,” says Wilmot. This ejected him out of the turret from the

tumbling Humvee. The VA rates him at 100% disabled, which is severe. George easily forgets

things, gets lost, and sometimes without warning falls down hard. His wife has not been able to

work outside of the home because caring for him is a full time job. The family had been

receiving the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family

Caregivers which paid them a stipend to allow his wife to provide care, but after two years on the

program they were dropped even though his condition had not improved at all. Some VA’s were

dropping caregivers off while others were adding in an effort to improve and standardize the
 Bringhurst 4

program. Many, including George, who were dropped before the improvements are still trying to

get back on and need the assistance badly. The stipend ranges on the severity of the disability

and market rate for the caregivers, it can be as little as a few hundred dollars to a couple

thousand dollars a month. Which can greatly impact the ability of the caregiver, veteran and

their families.

The VA paused the revocations briefly (stopped kicking people off the program) stating

they were carrying out a strategic review to better oversee and standardize it. During this time

the Wilmot’s were encouraged to reapply and were then rejected. Unfortunately the Wilmot’s

are not the only ones this has happened to, there are veterans and caregivers throughout the

country who were just dropped and are now unable to get benefits anymore. This is just one

example of the many veterans who have served their country and thought that should anything

ever happen to them that they would be “taken care of.” It is evident that there are still

improvements to be made to improve everyday life for veterans across the nation.

The VA has broad services for veterans and active duty service members, not only does it

offer health, education, and shelter assistance it also offers help with home mortgages. The VA

mortgage program was created in 1944 to help returning service members purchase homes

without needing a down payment or excellent credit. It helps veterans to obtain home ownership

with some special circumstances, doing this also helps those who have been homeless and have

worked to get a job and get back on their feet. Spouses of military members who died while on

active duty or a service-connected disability may also be eligible for a VA loan. An

extraordinary thing for veterans is there is not required income threshold, the veteran is just

expected to have stable, reliable income to cover their expenses. This is unlike any other kind of
 Bringhurst 5

mortgage loan and it truly benefits veterans and their families. VA loans have one of the lowest

foreclosure rates because when approving a veteran for a loan they require that the borrower

maintain a certain amount of income be left over each month to cover family needs, such as

food, transportation, etc. This residual income is believed to be a major factor in the low

foreclosure rate and great success of the VA loan. The no-down payment program combined

with the residual income requirement ensures the veterans can truly afford the home they

purchase, which allows them to gain equity and prevent foreclosures, in fact, VA loans have had

the lowest foreclosure rate of any mortgage in the last six years. Homeownership is at the heart

of the American Dream, veterans and the military community own homes in greater numbers

than their civilian counterparts.

Although there are a lot of benefits and resources available it is still imperative that

people continue to advocate for the veterans and work on their behalf. As civilians, veterans and

government we can all work together to continue improving the systems, benefits and services

offered to those who fight for our country and our freedoms.
 Bringhurst 6

Works Cited

Gade, Daniel M. “Search.” ​National Affairs​, 2013. Web. 21 May 2018.

Lawrence, Quil. “VA's Caregiver Program Still Dropping Veterans With Disabilities.” ​NPR​,

NPR, 21 May 2018. Web. 21 May 2018.

“Education and Training Benefits.” ​Vets.gov​. Web. 22 May 2018.

“FAQ about Homeless Veterans.” ​National Coalition for Homeless Veterans​. Web. 22 May

2018.

Planning, Office of Policy and. “National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics.” ​Go to

VA.gov​, 24 Nov. 2010. Web. 21 May 2018.

“VA Loans: The Complete Guide from Veterans United Home Loans.” ​Veterans United

Network​. Web. 21 May 2018.