Essay On Advocacy For Veterans

Advocacy for Veterans and Military Service Members

Candice Swanson

Capella University

COUN5223-Intro Clin Mental Health Coun

08/09/2015

Stephanie Brooke Advocacy for Veterans and Military Service Members This paper will be focusing on the diverse clientele of the United States veterans and military service members. This paper will discuss advocacy processes, how local, state and national public policies come into play, three community strategies, three community resources and reference materials for the clientele chosen.

Advocacy Methods There are many different situations that veterans go through that require them to start locating different sources of help such as therapy. Veterans who come back from war could experience mental illnesses

According to Goldstein, Luther, Haas, Gordon, & Appelt (2009), “many homeless individuals with psychiatric difficulties experience often untreated general health problems” (p.200). TB, HIV, lung disease, and other critical healthcare concerns are of the many medical issues faced by homeless veterans. Although there are benefits and insurance for war veterans, some veterans who become homeless do not have that option to cover insurance and therefore cannot see a medical professional to cure any disease that could impede this veteran once homeless for a long period of time.

Analyze the Impact of Local, State, and National Public Policies on the Quality and Accessibility of Clinical Mental Health Services

Luckily there have been many advocates for the homeless veterans who have been fighting to change the world and give these heroes a place to call home. On June 4, 2014, a program was brought to light by Michelle Obama to end homelessness for veterans by the year 2015. As described on www.endhomelessness.org (2014), “mayors, government officials and legislators have come together to advocate this program to end homelessness for veterans”. This can go as far as local to national when focusing on providing for the homeless

When speaking individually, the client go undergo a one-on-one therapy session with a professional counselor employed by the VA who is trained on focusing on the different negative outcomes experienced by those veterans returning from war. Another strategy would be if the client is married. Some marriages fail after a veteran returns home from war due to the personality change of the client and the spouse however cannot transition into the new person the client has become. The couple could come together to a VA marriage and family professional counselor to discuss ways to help each other cope with the transition from war to civilian life. A third strategy could be where the client comes together in a group of other veterans who are experiencing the same issues as them or their own issues. The client could find support from the other clientele and feel that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for recovery. Sometimes after seeing someone else going through the same issue, that client may not feel so