Essay On Veterans Reform

Words: 607
Pages: 3

Veteran Reform The United States government has a responsibility to care for veterans returning from service. It has always been the government duty to care for wounded soldiers and veterans battling mental illness. With recent scandals regarding the VA, it has been revealed that veterans have been neglected, with care being withheld. Veterans have been put on waitlists for months, or years, without being treated for PTSD and other forms of mental illness, such as depression. This can often lead to suicide in the veteran community because of a lack of care. The VA must provide mental health assessments within 30 days for requesting applicants. Another issue that the VA faced were insufficient staff members, such as suicide prevention officers. The VA has over 800 clinics that didn’t have suicide prevention officers. It is obvious, the government must act in funding associations for veterans and monitoring those …show more content…
The United State spends about 600 billion dollars on its military; while that can be necessary some of the funds can go toward helping veterans. With more funding going through these groups, veterans have access to more hands-on time with doctors and group mentors. This will help for more people to be cared for without waiting lists where people can be forgotten. More time spent with members of that organization can have positive effects on mental health and stability, resulting in lower suicide rates among veterans. “Treatment delays for PTSD and other combat-related mental illnesses are so "egregious" that they violate veterans' constitutional rights and contribute to the despair behind many of the 6,500 suicides among veterans each year” (Williams). With more funding, there can be a larger staff that can be available to veterans in need, while also being able to monitor each organization to ensure they are properly caring for