Facts About Veterans

There are many people who sacrifice a lot by going into a profession to improve the lives of other people. Military veterans are an example of this but it is arguably the greatest sacrifice one can make for other people. This is because veterans are people who served in the military for the country they live in, which they did to protect their country but they also did it to improve other people’s lives. Veterans are people who made many sacrifices and deserve the best of everything when they return home with healthcare, education, employment opportunities, housing, etc. This article will explore several facts about the struggles veterans face in the United States. The struggles veterans face in the United States should not happen with the sacrifices they have made.

Unemployment and Homelessness

There are many veterans who are struggling like many other Americans, but they should not be struggling with the sacrifices they made for their country. Two ways to show the struggles veterans face is to look at unemployment and homelessness. According to the VA, as of 2014 there were 21,999,108 veterans in the United States. According to Fisher (2016), in 2014, ¼ of homeless adults have served in the armed forces totaling in 49,933 homeless veterans. It seems unacceptable that around 25% of homeless adults have served in the military. This is because the number of adults who served in the military is significantly less than the adults who did not yet they make up 25% of homeless adults. One fact that is worth noting is the number of homeless veterans in 2014 dropped 10% from 2013 and 33% from 2010 according to the VA, so it is improving. Another problem that veterans face is unemployment, which is at 4.3% of veterans or 453 veterans who are unemployed according to BLS. According to BLS, it is similar to total United States unemployment with overall unemployment being at 4.7%. The reason that it should be less is the many sacrifices they made to serve their country so they should not be unemployed.

Mental Illness

Psychological problems are also an issue that many returning veterans face when coming back home after they have experienced traumatic events. “At least 20% of the veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan suffer from either major depression or PTSD” (Fisher, 2016). Of that percentage, 20% of those experienced a traumatic brain injury (Fisher, 2016). This shows the psychological issues veterans face but it can be managed with the right care. The problem is many veterans do not get the help they need because only 50% of veterans that need help get it, even though around 2.1 million veterans receive care (Fisher, 2016). This is a problem that needs to be solved because there are veterans that need help who are not receiving care, which can cause other problems. Continued suffering from depression or PTSD can cause suicide, in which there were 41,425 suicides 2014 among veterans with a 32% increase from 2010 compared to 23% for U.S. civilians (Fisher, 2016). Psychological illnesses are an issue many veterans face and they must receive help to prevent further suffering they could face.

Healthcare

Healthcare is another area that some veterans struggle with, which can help them once they return home. For healthcare, each veteran can get healthcare through Veteran Affairs (VA) if they qualify for the program. Not every veteran is eligible for the VA and according to Tsai and Rosenheck, “about 7%, or more than 1.5 million were uninsured… of those uninsured, 55%, or more than 800 000, are likely eligible for the Medicaid expansion if states implement it… 13% (3.6 million) of veterans report receiving some or all of their health care at the VA” (2014). A small percentage of veterans receive healthcare from the VA so that means that if they do not receive healthcare from another source, then they go uninsured. More than half of uninsured veterans can receive healthcare through a Medicaid expansion, but 19 states have not expanded Medicaid in 2017 (Vestal, 2017). The result is there are still many veterans that do not have healthcare, which is unfortunate considering the sacrifices they made serving their country.

Conclusion

Serving in the military is considered a huge sacrifice one can make for their country because it they put their lives at risk. Once people return home as veterans, there are certain areas in life that they should not have to struggle with. Unfortunately, there areas veterans struggle with once they return home that must be addressed. Veterans should not have to go without a place to live, struggle to find a job, and to go without the mental or health care they need. There have been improvements in many of these areas but there needs to be continued improvements. With continued improvements, hopefully these are problems that veterans will no longer have to deal with.

References

https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat48.htm

Fisher, N. (2016, November 11). The Facts That Matter This Veterans Day. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolefisher/2016/11/11/the-most-important-things-to-know-about-veterans-health-this-veterans-day/#655abba4b4d1

https://www.va.gov/vetdata/veteran_population.asp

Tsai, J., Rosenheck, R. (2014, March). Uninsured Veterans Who Will Need to Obtain Insurance Coverage Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3953755/

Vestal, C. (2017, January 23). Republican States Look to Tweak Medicaid Expansion Under Obamacare, Not Eliminate It. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/republican-states-look-to-tweak-medicaid-expansion/