Disabled Veterans

Our nation’s veterans and the governmental support for their disability have been an issue for a long time now. The disabled often struggle with poverty and are reliant on the government to support them because of their inability to work. Imagine being disabled, perhaps bound to a wheelchair, and being entirely dependent on the government to compensate for that. The inability to do certain daily activities alone is a scary thing, and having to live with that is even more terrifying. This is why veterans need support from the government and other organizations especially. Educating the country about the process of disability, the aftermath of becoming disabled and how veterans cope with everyday situations and the organizations that dedicate

Amputation is a specially tailored recovery process and “requires adapting many parts of your life” (Johns Hopkins 27). Many of these soldiers wish to return to duty, but this is a tedious process. According to Amputee Coalition, if a soldier has 30% or more disability, he or she is permanently retired from military service. This percentage is determined by a Physical Evaluation Board within the specific military branch. In fact, the members who are able to return are often “attached to a Medical Holding Company or M.H.C.” the most common being Walter Reed Army Medical Center (Amputee Coalition 5). These are primarily occupied by these disabled soldiers. Disabilities are more than missing limbs or partial paralysis, these are the only the extreme cases that prevent soldiers from returning to active duty. Some conditions that apply for disability are loss of sight or hearing, broken bones that prevent certain movements, muscular and skeletal disorders, and mental disorders. However the severe ones are the main reason for the inability to return to service. Now why should we help those who are not able to return to active duty? Because according to P.B.S., most veterans’ disabilities are preventing them from being employed. So what is the solution? The United States government is left to compensate their disabilities. Although the government compensates as much as possible, some of our veterans are poverty

Some examples of these organizations are the United Service Organizations (USO), the Wounded Warrior Project, Homes for Our Troops, and Operation Write Home. The Wounded Warrior Project “provides rehabilitation services, activities, and career counseling for wounded veterans and their families” (Military.com 3). The U.S.O. gives out international calling cards to overseas military to make calls to their families. One especially important service is the Disabled American Veterans or the D.A.V. This organization is vital to some veteran’s everyday lives. The Disabled American veterans provide a team of vans throughout the country that pick up veterans and drive them to their doctors’ appointments at their local Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Many disabled veterans have no other option except to use services provided by the D.A.V. due to the exceptional cost of wheelchair accessible vehicles. The Louisiana Disabled American Veterans office is located in New Orleans but their services run all over the state. There are D.A.V. vans operating out of the Alexandria Veterans Affairs Medical Center. These vans are still required to travel because certain veterans’ medical centers do not house all of the services that veterans need. For example, the local V.A.’s highest emergency service is only an urgent care that closes at ten o’clock and is equipped with a mere three