This Veterans Day military personnel who have returned from duty were recognized with more than a parade. Noting the numbers over the past decade of service members and their families who are finding it difficult to get a job and reacclimatize to civilian life the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) are doing something about it with a program called Vet Corps.
“Supporting our nation’s troops, veterans, and military families is critical to our national security and to strengthening our communities, and national service plays a key role in this mission,” said Robert Velasco II, acting CEO of the CNCS. “The honor and selflessness of our veterans makes America proud, but all of us can do more to support them during their deployment, homecoming, and transition back to day-to-day life. We salute CADCA for developing this program – the largest Veterans Corps we have supported to date – and hope veterans across the country will apply for this opportunity to serve their country again by supporting their fellow veterans and their families.”
The data gathered in a RAND study in 2008 suggests that 18.5% of troops returning from operations in the Middle East suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/ or depression. 19.5% of all soldiers sent have come home with brain injuries. Members of the National Guard & Reserves have been strongly affected too and studies show that 22% of members would be considered problem drinkers and 29% are in financial duress.
CADCA Chairman and CEO Gen. Arthur T. Dean explains that it’s important to look out for everyone who has served, “We developed VetCorps to improve the overall quality of life for veterans and military families, particularly National Guard and Reserve members who don’t benefit from services readily available on military bases.”
VetCorps will create jobs to help vets find jobs by recruiting 100 military veterans to serve as full-time AmeriCorps members to create and staff community coalitions across the country. These multi-sector groups will call on organizations and institutions in the area to help veterans and their families. Programs will focus on providing economic opportunities, housing, health care services and family support, including substance abuse prevention and treatment.
Find out more about how to get involved with VetCorps here.
What are some other ways you can think of that would help transition Veterans who are returning home?
By Heather Fairchild - Heather is a multimedia developer with experience in web, film, photography and animation as well as traditional fine arts like painting and sculpting. In addition to writing for Nexxt, she is co-founder of design and promotion company. Heather’s spare time consists of making puppets, teaching Sunday School, building Legos and doing science experiments with her children.
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