Another tragic effect of the Iraq war
I know other bloggers have already covered this issue, but I believe this report needs to be heard.
As a result of the war, the number of Americans with disabilities is dramatically rising. While the number of American soldiers dying in Iraq is widely reported by the media, the number of soldiers that are wounded in Iraq is far less reported. According to Linda Bilmes at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, for every soldier fatality in Iraq, there are 16 wounded soldiers. Because of advances in technology, more soldiers are surviving serious injuries and will come home needing strong healthcare and social support services. According to this author, the Veterans Administration does not have the resources to meet these high demands. How appalling. How sad.
2 comments:
I have been obsessing about this very thing. A "homeless veterans" shelter was recently build in our community. It is far from enough. The physical disabilities are one thing and difficult enough to address. However, the issues surrounding the "invisible" disability of mental illness is also extremely disabling.
My experience has been that (while we have LOTS of work to do) most people are at least somewhat sensitive to physical challenges. Mental challenges, on the other hand, often go ignored, misunderstood, or actually judged by others. ("Just get over it!" "If they tried, they'd get better!")
Great point, David! Keep on writin'!! :)
Lee P.
Great post, there are thousands and thousands of our soldiers wounded and some will need medical treatment the rest of their lives and as time goes by that figure could go as high as 10 trillion dollars. I think that news agencies should concentrate more on our wounded, because that figure is very high and the cost to these veterans and their families are high.
Found you on Google blog search, keep up the good work of bringing things like this to the public.
Post a Comment