Social Work With Veterans
In the United States there are currently more than 2.7 million veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Each year these military members return home from war only to face obstacles such as unemployment, medical and mental health issues, and homelessness. Social workers are dedicated to the men and women who have served and are currently serving our country and the VA employs more social workers than any other U.S. agency (Malai, 2015). Social workers are continuously working with social service programs whose goal is eliminate homelessness in the veteran community, combat unemployment in the post-deployed, and provide outstanding medical and mental health care through VA programs.
Homelessness among veterans affects
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In 2010, the VA also launched the End Veteran Homelessness initiative. The program is designed to find adequate housing for veterans currently homeless and to help eliminate the risk of veterans loosing their homes in the future. Within this initiative, social workers work with the homeless to find housing and employment that will set them up for financial stability. Additionally, social workers work with veterans to identify risk factors that could potentially lead to homelessness and refer services and programs to eliminate this …show more content…
One of the most common mental health illnesses within the veteran population is posttraumatic stress disorder, commonly referred to as PTSD. It is estimated that between eleven and twenty percent of veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom suffer to some degree from PTSD in a given year (Gradus, 2015). Social workers maintain a wealth of knowledge regarding programs and services that are aimed at combating the effects of PTSD in order to provide accurate and useful referrals. Additionally, they also work in conjunction with these programs acting in such capacities as case managers, program managers, counselors, and teachers. Social Work Today (2007) suggests that for clinical social workers over the next 10 years, combat-related stress disorders will affect every institution, hospital, and private practice in the United States. One such program where social workers are being utilized in treating PTSD is at Walter Reed Medical Center. According to the Deployment Health Clinical