Veterans Legal Support Center Blog

Two organizations have partnered to launch an apprenticeship program to train Chicago-area veterans to be industrial electricians.

The seven-week “boot camp” will train post-9/11 veterans in the electrical trades and guarantee them 12 months of employment with a sponsoring contractor.

The Illinois chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors Inc., a trade association, will conduct the training at its Elk Grove Village location. Its partner, USA Cares, a military assistance nonprofit, will cover the tuition costs. Seven of the 10 slots available have been filled.

While this training centers on electricians, the organizations are aiming to develop programs to train 1,000 veterans in other skilled crafts, such as carpentry and welding.

The deadline to apply is Jan. 19 at learnyourtrade.com, usacares.org or by calling 800-773-0387.

— Corilyn Shropshire

http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2241

January 4, 2012

Additions to Fleet Will Expand Veterans’ Access to VA Services Across U.S.

COLUMBUS, Ohio- The Department of Veterans Affairs today deployed 20 additional Mobile Vet Centers from the production facility of Farber Specialty Vehicles to increase access to readjustment counseling services for Veterans and their families in rural and underserved communities across the country. 

“Mobile Vet Centers allow VA to bring the many services our Vet Centers offer Veterans to all communities, wherever they are needed,” said VA Under Secretary for Health Robert A. Petzel. “VA is committed to expanding access to VA health care and benefits for Veterans and their families, and these 20 new vehicles demonstrate that continued commitment.”

In an event attended by Petzel, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, representatives of the Ohio congressional delegation, and Veterans service organizations, VA launched the 20 new vehicles to their destinations ranging across the continental United States, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. 

These customized vehicles–which are equipped with confidential counseling space and a state of the art communication package—travel to communities to extend VA’s reach to Veterans, Servicemembers and their families, especially those living in rural or remote communities.  The vehicles also serve as part of the VA emergency response program.

The 20 new, American-made vehicles will expand the existing fleet of 50 Mobile Vet Centers already in service providing outreach and counseling services.  The 50 Mobile Vet Centers were also manufactured by Farber Specialty Vehicles.  In fiscal year 2011, Mobile Vet Centers participated in more than 3,600 federal, state and locally sponsored Veteran-related events.  The VA contract for the 20 Mobile Vet Centers totals $3.1 million. 

During the announcement event, Petzel also announced that Farber Specialty Vehicles recently won a competitive bid to produce 230 emergency shuttle vehicles for VA over the next five years.  The shuttles will provide routine transportation for Veteran patients in and around various metro areas during normal operations, but convert to mobile clinics that will facilitate the evacuation of patients and their care teams during disasters and emergencies.  The VA contract for the 230 emergency shuttles totals $53.5 million.  

VA has 300 Vet Centers serving communities across the country, offering individual and group counseling for Veterans and their families, family counseling for military related issues, bereavement counseling for families who experience an active duty death, military sexual trauma counseling and referral, outreach and education, substance abuse assessment and referral, employment assessment and referral, VA benefits explanation and referral, and screening and referral for medical issues including traumatic brain injury and depression. 

More than 190,000 Veterans and families made over 1.3 million visits to VA Vet Centers in fiscal year 2011.

To find out more about Vet Center services or find a Vet Center in your area, go to www.vetcenter.va.gov. 

The 20 new mobile Vet Centers will be based at Birmingham, Ala.; San Diego, Calif.; Atlanta, Ga.; Western Oahu, Hawaii; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Evanston, Ill.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Baltimore, Md.; Pontiac, Mich.; and Kansas City, Mo.

Also, Jackson, Miss.; Greensboro, N.C.; Lakewood, N.J.; Reno, Nev.; Stark County, Ohio; Lawton, Okla.; Ponce, Puerto Rico; Nashville, Tenn.; Washington County, Utah; and Green Bay, Wis.

They’ve come to this neighborhood once synonymous with the worst of Baltimore to help it become something better. They call this mission Operation Oliver.

As the men walk, they pick up empty Seagram’s gin and Bacardi rum bottles. They point to progress — refurbished homes, a painted playground — and to vacant houses and trash-filled alleys that still need work.

“A lot of the conditions from places we’re deployed to, Iraq and Afghanistan, are not that much different from the conditions here in Oliver,” says Blake, executive director of the 6th Branch, one of several nonprofit groups involved in Operation Oliver.

“We’re not afraid to dig in and make a difference in a community that’s got a bad reputation in the city,” Blake says. “The discipline, the go-get-’em, let’s-do-this-now, aggressive attitude — it really lends itself to community service in a way traditional organizations haven’t been able to do.”

Operation Oliver, which began in July, is a one-year commitment to the neighborhood, the veterans say. It involves cleaning up alleys, rehabilitating homes, organizing volunteers and notifying police about illegal dumping sites and drug dealing.

To say the idea has caught on would be an understatement. Word of the intensive yearlong service project has spread throughout Maryland — and the nation.

Some veterans, such as Earl Johnson, a former Army Ranger who served in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan, have moved into the neighborhood. Others, such as Jeremy Johnson and Blake, live elsewhere but visit Oliver frequently. Nearly 1,000 volunteers, including more than 100 veterans, have joined the effort.

Universities and colleges have been quick to send help too. Even exchange students from France found their way there.

“It’s their second day in America and they’re painting alleys in Oliver,” Blake says.

The improvement is noticeable. Nearly 50 homes are being rehabilitated through Earl Johnson’s organization, the One Green Home at a Time Foundation, another of the partners. Five tons of trash have been hauled away, an area that was once a site of prostitution is now a playground, an organic garden is planned for a weed-filled lot, and the veterans take residents on weekly job-hunting trips.

The neighborhood of about 5,000 people is predominantly black, and more than 70% of Oliver’s households earn less than $25,000 a year. Of its 2,600 properties, more than 1,100 are listed as vacant by the city.

The veterans’ effort hasn’t come without push-back. Their approach — hands on, no community meetings — has made established leaders bristle.

Nina Harper, executive director of the Oliver Community Assn., says she supports the veterans’ work but is critical of what she sees as a lack of communication. If people see a bunch of veterans working in the neighborhood in their military-green Operation Oliver T-shirts, it could send a bad message to those looking to move in, she says.

“We don’t want it to appear to be a war zone, because it’s not,” she says.

Earl Johnson, 30, says he wants to assure Harper and other residents that he and his volunteers are team players.

Still, he has been threatened. As the veterans cleaned up alleys and worked on vacant homes — leaving fewer places for drug dealers and prostitutes to set up shop — they encountered resistance.

One woman said her boyfriend was “going to put a bullet in my head,” Johnson says.

He says the resistance has subsided as the neighborhood has improved. His wife, Zinitha, who once threatened to divorce him over conditions in the area, sees the place differently, he says.

“When we first moved in, my wife really didn’t want to come out and associate with the neighborhood,” Johnson says. “Now this neighborhood is no longer considered a bad neighborhood. This neighborhood is a good neighborhood that’s going to be great.”

Associated Press | Posted: Wednesday, December 28, 2011 7:00 am

December 22, 2011|Todd Richmond, Associated Press

Dr. Ken Lee lives every day with reminders of a suicide car bombing: a crescent-shaped scar on his temple, thumbs that don’t work correctly, constant headaches, and legs and arms that always feel like they’re on fire.

The attack in Baghdad nearly killed the Wisconsin National Guard’s chief medical officer, leaving him with a brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder so severe that the slightest provocation sent him into a furniture-smashing rage — even as he worked to diagnose and heal fellow veterans back home.

Lee eventually learned to live with his nightmares. Now as the last American troops leave Iraq, he’s using his unique experience — as a doctor, patient and combat veteran — to wage a new battle to call attention to the effects of combat trauma that will be with veterans for years to come.

“I can tell my son that his dad was right in the middle of it,’’ Lee said. “I was part of the process to make it better.’’

Lee, 46, emigrated from South Korea with his family when he was a child. After graduating from medical school in Milwaukee, he became a physician in the Wisconsin National Guard and landed a job with the Department of Veterans Affairs, working as a spinal cord specialist in Milwaukee.

He had just been promoted to head of spinal cord treatment when he got the call in November 2003 to head to Iraq. He left his wife and two young children and shipped out in command of Company B of the 118th Medical Battalion.

Lee treated high-value U.S. prisoners that included Saddam Hussein. He visited the deposed dictator twice to treat a sore wrist. Lee described Hussein as an educated, pleasant man who spoke decent English — but probably understood more than he let on.

The worst moments came during the Fallujah offensive as exhausted medics tried to save badly wounded Marines.

“We’re seeing death in front of us,’’ he said. “We kept absorbing it until it wasn’t healthy. Some stopped eating. Some cried. I would lock myself in my room. I couldn’t get hold of this feeling of despair.’’

Then, in September 2004, Lee made the mistake that changed his life.

He was leading a convoy when he spotted soldiers removing a bomb up ahead. Rather than speeding around them, Lee felt safe enough to stop the vehicles, climb out and help guard the rear.

Suddenly, he heard the screech of rubber on pavement. A Buick was bearing down on them. As Lee raised his rifle, the driver detonated his explosives. An orange ball of flame rolled toward him in slow motion and knocked him backward under a car.

When Lee came to, the world was red. His head was split open, and blood was pouring into his eyes. Medics performed life-saving surgery.

During months of rehabilitation back in Washington, he thought about how medical teams could better detect PTSD and traumatic brain injuries, the wounds that have defined the Iraq War. Lee offered ideas to a group at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, suggesting that screening begin as soon as the first symptoms appeared.

When he finally returned home, nothing felt right. He sat alone while his wife went to work and children went to school. For one miserable year, little things like the sound of one of his kids dropping a toy enraged him. He often retreated to the basement, where at one point he smashed the family’s extra dining set. He drank himself to sleep in hopes of blocking out nightmares.

But at work, he dealt with everyone else’s problems with a smile, and he excelled. He became the Wisconsin National Guard’s state surgeon in 2008.

At home, Lee was on the brink of divorce. One day, while playing with his 10-year-old daughter, she commented that he never smiled anymore. Lee cried.

“I just didn’t want to believe I had’’ PTSD, he said. “Nobody does.’’

Since then, he has resolved to be happy. He started thinking of the day the bomb went off as his “alive day,’’ the day he didn’t die. He celebrated it with his family by going out to eat or doing some other fun activity. At work, he continued to spread the word about detecting PTSD and brain injuries.

The Defense Department estimates that nearly 213,000 military personnel have suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2000.

An earlier report by the Rand Corp. estimated that 300,000 veterans of both conflicts suffered post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression. Less than half had sought treatment for PTSD over the preceding year, and nearly 60 percent of those reporting a probable brain injury weren’t evaluated by a physician for one.

Army protocol requires soldiers returning from overseas to undergo a health assessment when they get back and again after they’ve been home for several months. Lee took that a step further in Wisconsin, sending medical teams to demobilization points to check on returning units as soon as they hit the ground.

“When you come home, it’s hidden,’’ said Lee, bespectacled with dark hair mowed into a crew-cut. “Why don’t we do all these guys when they come back, instead of doing it when they walk into your office?’’

He’s also traveled the country lecturing on how combat trauma can be mental as well as physical, displaying photographs of his wounds and sharing his struggles.

As a spinal specialist, Lee doesn’t treat PTSD or brain injuries directly, but he’s earned a new level of respect from veterans. Many who aren’t even his patients seek him out to talk.

Gus Sorenson of Sturtevant, Wis., lost the use of his legs in a 1970 car crash just days after returning from Vietnam. He has seen Lee for years and noticed a change after the doctor returned from Iraq.

“I think the word is `empathy,’’’ Sorenson said. “He was the patient. That experience helped the learning process. Other vets can relate to that.’’

Lee still can’t remember appointments unless he emails them to himself. He can walk, but he has almost no feeling in his legs except a constant burning. His thumbs don’t bend properly because the blast apparently jammed them against his rifle grips.

Sometimes he wakes up to find bloody spots on the sheets as tiny shards of shrapnel work their way out of his body. He’s worried that his kids are still terrified of him, and he still suffers from flashbacks and nightmares.

Even after the U.S. withdrawal is complete, the U.S. will spend decades dealing with psychologically scarred veterans, Lee said.

“We have a product that comes back from war,’’ he said. “We have to have a system to take care of it.’’

By Clay Dillow Posted 12.13.2011 at 5:16 pm

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-12/can-single-injection-cure-symptoms-post-traumatic-stress-disorder

Everything from magnetic stimulation of the brain to virtual reality therapy to heavy regimens of conventional pharmaceuticals (and even some, like MDMA and cannabis, that aren’t exactly conventional) has been floated as a potential treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and yet researchers have yet to find a method that works all–or even most of–the time. As the Pentagon grows quietly more desperate some in the services are willing to reach a little further for a potential cure, and now a Navy doctor thinks perhaps she’s found one in the form of a single injection to the neck.

The idea was born from a procedure used to treat hot flashes in post-menopausal women, Danger Room reports. The Chicago-based anesthesiologist who developed it, Dr. Eugene Lipov, only realized it might have applications for PTSD in the last few years. Stellate-ganglion block, or SGB, requires just a single injection of anesthetic into a bunch of sympathetic nervous tissue in the neck. In preliminary tests, it appeared to alleviate the symptoms of PTSD literally within minutes.

But unfortunately, the Pentagon has been largely resistant to the idea. Lipov was reportedly ignored by military brass when he approached the DoD for funding. But a Navy doctor–Capt. Anita Hickey–sees the potential and has managed to secure $100,000 in funding in spite of the widespread opposition. Hickey describes SGB as a kind of reboot for the brain that resets the chemical pathways and other circuitry of the nervous system that are altered by stressful experiences.

PTSD is far from completely understood. But part of that chronic stress that recurs as a primary symptom of PTSD is attributed to something called nerve growth factor. Nerve growth factor spikes during stressful experiences and causes new nerves to sprout. SGB turns nerve growth factor off. One Marine Sergeant who received SGB reported feeling better within just five minutes of having received an injection.

A single-injection cure for PTSD sounds too good to be true for a problem that has been dogging the DoD as the last ten years of conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere has produced a quarter-million American service members showing symptoms of PTSD. But given the initial results–and the lack of anything more effective–SGB is a fairly tantalizing prospect. Hickey is now partially through a double-blind study involving 42 sailors diagnosed with PTSD.

If it’s successful, Lipov, Hickey, and the Navy may just be onto something huge: a restart switch for the human brain and–at long last–relief for America’s fighting front line. Much more on this at Danger Room.

WASHINGTON — Nearly half of the veterans who served since 9/11 have struggled with the transition back to civilian life — and being married is likely to make it harder, according to a survey released Thursday.

The Pew Research Center, an opinion research group in Washington, looked at factors that predict whether a servicemember would have an easier or harder time stepping out of uniform, and the survey revealed that marriage negatively affects how well a veteran will do.

Those who were married during their service had a significantly tougher time after returning than did their single counterparts. Chances of an easy exit from the military dropped from 63 percent for single troops to 48 percent for married troops, according to the report.

The author, Rich Morin, said that the impact on family life during the multiple deployments of the last 10 years of war is likely why married vets struggled. About half of married veterans said deploying had a negative impact on their spouse, and a majority of that group had family problems after being discharged.

Overall, more than 60 percent of veterans who had marital problems while deployed had a hard time returning to civilian life.

The negative impact of marriage only held true for post-9/11 vets. In past generations, there were significantly fewer married servicemembers, Morin said.

The report also found several other factors that predict which vets will have difficulty after leaving the military: those who experienced combat, and especially if they endured a traumatic event, were seriously injured or served with someone who was killed or injured.

A psychological trauma had the biggest impact on transition, making it 26 percent less likely that becoming a civilian will be easy — the largest difference, positive or negative, reported in the study.

More than 40 percent of post-9/11 veterans said they experienced an emotionally traumatic or distressing event, with more than half of those veterans reporting flashbacks.

Veterans from the last 10 years of war have a harder time adjusting than veterans from earlier generations, the survey found. However, researchers caution that post-9/11 vets have been interviewed close to their military service, while older vets have more distance from that experience and their views could have changed over time.

Overall, 44 percent of post-9/11 veterans found returning to civilian life challenging.

There are also protective factors that help the ease of transition for a veteran. Officers, those with a college education, those who had a clear understanding of their mission, and most signifincantly, those who regularly attend religious services, had the easiest time transitioning out of the military, Pew found.

The more frequently a veteran attended religious services, the more likely they would have an easy time making the transition to civilian. Religiosity was a unique protective factor for 9/11 veterans. Vets from earlier eras didn’t see the same positive impact from religion, according to the report.

The Pew Research Center looked at a total of 18 variables and found that race, age at the time of discharge, having children under 18 while serving, length of service and number of deployments did not affect a veteran’s transition.

A  U.S. military veteran who becomes homeless is more likely to remain that way longer, and has a greater chance of dying on the streets, than a homeless non-veteran, according to recently a recent report.

That stark assessment was part of a conclusion of a survey conducted in 102 cities nationwide by the 100,000 Homes Campaign and released this month. The survey interviewed 23,000 individuals, 3,493 of whom were veterans.

The 100,000 Homes Campaign is a drive to place 100,000 homeless in shelter by 2013. Among the New Jersey locations taking part in that drive are Morristown, New Brunswick, Newark and Bergen County. So far, the drive has housed 11,225 individuals.

The campaign’s assessment of veterans and homelessness is blunt: “As a group, veterans were 11 percentage points more likely to suffer from at least one condition linked to increased risk of death among the homeless population, which means the men and women who risked their lives defending America may be far more likely to die on its streets.”

This week, Patch takes a look at the lives of Morris County’s service members and veterans, for our special report, Morris and the Military.

The survey determined, “among those who reported spending two or more years homeless, veterans reported an average of nearly nine years homeless, compared to just over seven for non-veterans. Length of homelessness matters because the longer people spend on the streets, the more health risks they tend to develop,” the report said.

Further, the report said, “among the 62 percent  of homeless veterans who reported two or more years of homelessness, over 61 percent reported a serious physical health condition, 55 percent reported a mental health condition, 76 percent reported a substance abuse habit, and 32 percent reported all three.”

Annual surveys say that in New Jersey there are roughly 6,500 homeless veterans. In Morris County, the number has averaged 60 to 75 annually in recent years.

Morris County social service providers are aware that the convergence of numerous factors–joblessness, substance abuse, mental and physical health issues, readjustment concerns or post traumatic stress–can result in putting a veteran on the street.

Lisa Falcone, a homeless specialist with the Morris County Mental Health Association, said there is a rising consciousness in the county about the plight of homeless veterans.

The mental health association organizes the annual Point in Time homeless count held in January and Project Homeless Connect event, which this year will be held Dec. 8 at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown.

“We get a benefit from Project Homeless Connect,” Falcone said. “We get veterans identified, and get a handle on their needs.”

The event is not just a way for the county’s homeless population to get coats or clothing, or a few personal services and health check-ups, she said, but has become a key event to connect persons in need with the agencies that can  provide help.

“The homeless problem is growing every year,” she said. “In the past two years we are seeing younger veterans in need of housing. This is an issue for reserve units who at the end of their deployments maybe lost their jobs, maybe because of multiple deployments.”

The key issues are the lack of affordable housing combined with the loss of their  jobs, she said.

In January, 317 people were counted as being homeless in Morris County, up 13.5 percent from 2007.

Using a nationally accepted multiplier that says four times as many people are homeless as are counted at any one time, it could mean that there are 1,121 homeless adults and children in Morris County at some point this year.

Of that number, 6.5 percent were identified as veterans, meaning that in January, 21 Morris County veterans were homeless, and that at some point 73 Morris veterans could be homeless this year.

But Morris is a rich county, with an annual median family income greater than $96,000 and a 2 percent poverty rate. Veterans, though, can fall into that income range of $20,000 to $60,000, identified by the United Way of Northern  New Jersey as 30 percent of the county’s population.

That population can slide into homelessness more easily than higher income groups because they as a rule have fewer reserves and a single event like the loss of a job or a health issue can erode their wellbeing.

Monarch Housing Associates, a New Jersey-based housing advocate, released on Nov. 11, Veterans Day, its annual assessment of the national issue of homeless veterans.

Monarch found:

• 35 out of every 10,000 veterans are homeless.
• 76,000 veterans are homeless on any given night in the United States.
• 145,000 veterans use homeless housing programs every year.
• On a single night in January 2010, 76,329 veterans were living in emergency shelter, in transitional housing, or in an unsheltered place–on the streets, in cars, or in abandoned buildings. Approximately 57 percent of those homeless on a single night were sheltered–in emergency shelter or transitional housing–and 43 percent were unsheltered.
• During a 12-month period between October 2009 and September 2010, an estimated 144,842 veterans spent at least one night in emergency shelter or transitional housing programs, accounting for 11.5 percent of all homeless adults.
• In 2010, homeless veterans accounted for 1 in 150 veterans and about 1 in 9 veterans living in poverty.

A network of agencies in Morris County works to help veterans, among them the Morris County Division of Aging, Disabilities and Veterans, the Mental Health Association of Morris County, and the United Way, which with partners the Morris County Chamber of Commerce, Family Service of Morris County and Arsenal, provides its Front Line Fund.Picatinny

That fund since 2010 has provided counseling services through Family Service for 60 families, including 12 which received emergency funds to avoid foreclosure or evictions and pay food or utility bills.

Community Hope, Inc. of Parsippany, since 2004 has operated the Hope for Veterans transitional housing program at Veterans Affairs New Jersey Healthcare Campus at Lyons, which has helped 520 veterans end homelessness.

The program offers transitional housing for up to two years, and offers recovery services for substance abuse and depression or post traumatic stress, case management services for health, and access to job programs and computer training.

Michael Armstrong, Community Hope’s chief executive officer, said these are the “underlying issues” that make a veteran’s transition from combat service civilian life so difficult for some.

Community Hope is also awaiting final approval to develop Valley Brook Village, a 64-unit village on a vacant parcel of land at the Lyons VA campus with its partners EA Fish Development and Veterans Inc.

The project is slated to be the first sizeable permanent housing and support services development for homeless veterans and those at risk of homelessness in New Jersey. The plans for Valley Brook Village include one- and two-bedroom units suitable for seniors and handicapped veterans and a community residence for resident activities, support service staff, and employment programs.

Community Hope was also given a $1 million grant by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs to take part in a new program, Supportive Services for Veteran Families.

The agency expects to help 140 veteran families in Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, and Warren counties to avoid homelessness or rapidly return such families to housing.

Financial assistance could take the form of payment of back rent, mortgage or utility bills, or assistance to avoid foreclosure or eviction.

Support could also come in the form of daycare services, links to medical services, behavioral and recovery services for veterans experience the effects of combat, and other services to help the families establish and maintain financial stability.

When the grant was announced in November, Armstrong said, “What has led these veterans families into difficulty keeping their home? Is it a job loss or a returning veteran that is struggling to re-acclimate? This is where we can help them in getting them with the employment services to get back to work or linking them to a support group or recovery services that will help them start healing from the trauma of combat.”