Tag: PTSD

African Americans and the Vietnam War

Posted on by Jordank

It’s Black History Month — a great time to remember that African Americans have served honorably in the U.S. military for as long as there has been a U.S. military. But service often meant fighting for one’s country even while being denied equal rights at home.

More than 300,000 Black Americans fought in the #Vietnam War, making up an outsized share of those drafted (16.3%) compared to representation in the general U.S. population (11%). Black soldiers were more often assigned to combat duty in Vietnam and less likely to be elevated to command roles.

Fighting shoulder-to-shoulder in desegregated units for the first time in Vietnam often helped build camaraderie among the troops, regardless of racial and ethnic differences. But most Black #veterans recall discrimination during and after their service.

Upon being drafted or enlisting, “Black soldiers were immediately faced with discrimination and racism during basic training, which typically took place in the Jim Crow South,” an article in Time magazine says. “The racism was there: It was real and felt between soldiers.”

After the war, Black veterans suffered disproportionately high rates of PTSD and were twice as likely as white veterans to lack full-time employment. Veterans Affairs often routinely denied Black veterans’ claims for disability benefits even through the 1970s.

Institutional and interpersonal barriers have since eroded with no small amount of struggle. Military service is now regarded as a viable career option among African Americans; today, they make up one-quarter of enlisted Army soldiers while making up 13% of the population.

Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) and its local chapters support all veterans of all U.S. conflicts by helping with benefits claims and connecting them with health care and mental health care services, housing and job assistance, and much more. And it does this with your help!

You can easily support the nation’s #veterans by clearing out some of your #clutter and scheduling a #free #donation #pickup with ClothingDonations.org. Your lightly used clothing and household goods will be resold to #support programs that #veterans rely on nationwide.

Celebrate Black History Month with a #donation! You’ll #support veterans and eliminate some of the #stuff you don’t need at the same time. #BlackHistoryMonth

Even Small Gestures of Gratitude Honor Veterans

Posted on by Jordank

Small gestures can make a big impact when you wish to show gratitude to #veterans for their #service and sacrifice. Offer a veteran a ride to an appointment or event, visit with an injured vet at a VA hospital, help out with a few household chores or repairs, bring them a home-cooked meal or batch of cookies, or just spend some time with them. A heartfelt and sincere thank-you “can brighten even a bad day for a veteran, because you acknowledge their service,” says the National Veterans Foundation. “‘Welcome home. Thank you for your service’ can have a huge emotional impact,” especially for Vietnam veterans. #VeteransDay

How to Help Veterans Throughout the Year

Posted on by Jordank

#Veterans face a lot of challenges: accessing benefits, services and health care; barriers to employment and education; homelessness and housing; and more. This Veterans Day, you can help in multiple ways, says former Secretary of Veterans Affairs Bob McDonald. You can build awareness among friends and family, support veteran-friendly businesses or hire a #veteran, contact elected officials to advocate for policies that benefit veterans, volunteer your time and help with fundraising events, and #donate to organizations that make a direct impact on veterans such as ClothingDonations.org. #VeteransDay

Understanding Veterans’ Mental Health Needs

Posted on by Jordank

Veterans Day offers a chance to #thank #veterans for their service and sacrifice in times of war and peace. Their ages, backgrounds and motivations for service vary, but they all trained to fight on behalf of the nation. Many suffer from the aftereffects of that experience, notes the National Alliance for Mental Illness, experiencing mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, PTSD and traumatic brain injury. You can help by understanding and supporting veterans’ mental health needs, making yourself available to a veteran in crisis, and thanking them for their service. #VeteransDay

Your Donations Fuel Veteran Advocacy

Posted on by Jordank

This week, the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is hosting its National Convention in New Orleans, La. Representatives from chapters across the country will join to listen, learn about the issues facing veterans and strategize the next steps for the organization.

Like conventions in other industries and nonprofits (you may have been to one yourself), VVA’s will feature committee meetings, guest speakers, opportunities to break bread and socialize, and more. The difference with VVA? Everything is done in #service to #veterans.

Formed to support #Vietnam veterans in 1979, VVA now serves as an #advocate for veterans of all eras. With members having returned to U.S. soil with something less than a hero’s welcome, its motto is, “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.”

One of VVA’s most important missions is to ensure that all veterans and their dependents can access the #benefits guaranteed to them by the government. Its veteran service officers (VSOs) are deployed throughout the country to assist with claims.

The organization also educates service members and the public about the issues many veterans struggle with, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mental health, chemical dependency, homelessness, physical disability, and exposure to Agent Orange and other toxics.

It’s a precarious time for veterans’ benefits. The slash-and-burn tactics the administration is using in pursuit of government efficiency could leave many veterans and their families struggling to access critical health care, housing assistance and other resources — and soon.

That makes VVA’s advocacy — and this year’s convention — even more critical to the people who have bravely served the nation. VVA will need to defend and justify its work even more fiercely to cope with cuts to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) staffing and funding. And we can’t do this alone.

Your #generous #donations to ClothingDonations.org help fund everything we do — from the most informal morning coffee at a rural chapter to the high-level testimony VVA officials bring to the VA and Congress, your generosity and concern fuel our action. On behalf of America’s veterans, we thank you.