The psychological effects of taking lives of other human beings are a lifetime effect often leading to a mental disorder. Nicole Goodwin a vet diagnosed with PTSD stated she found herself walking the streets of New York, with a backpack full of her belongings and her 1 yr old daughter. When I first got back I just wanted to jump into a job and forget about Iraq, but the culture shock from the military to the civilian world hit me, she said. I was depressed for months. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. the worst thing wasn't the war, it was coming back, because nobody understood why I was the way I was. This made it difficult for her to maintain a steady job, therefore, a place to live in. Another Iraq soldier by the name "JOE", expressed to The Cristian Science MONITOR in 2005 his trauma in war. My first time killing somebody was very devastating. He recalled, saying that he fired at a minivan carrying a family of unarmed civilians. Unable to cope with "normal life", he turned to alcohol and drugs. Having these factors interfering with the ability to maintain a secure job, a stable relationship with family or even society leads vets to become homeless. Some of them do not know anything else other than the war.
I saw something similar happen to a friend of mine. He became homeless at the age of 23. I remember asking him ''why are you homeless you are a Marine"? He had told me that his aggressiveness and anxiety attacks did not allow him to have control of himself at times. He could not keep a job. If something would upset him he would react violently to the point where he would physically hurt someone at his job sight. He did not have a relationship with his family for the same reason. Fully depressed, he turned to drugs and alcohol which lead him to the streets. His only way out was going back to what he knew best, the Marines. In 2006 he got killed by a bomb in Iraq. I remember wanting to join the service when I was in highschool. After I knew what happened to my friend and all he went through I am glad I made the right choice for myself. One would think that the troops will be well taken care of due to the fact that they risk their lives for our country in combat. I know I did. Even though the downfalls do not apply to all service men and women the chances are still there and that was enough for me to think twice about enlisting.
Most of these issues can be corrected with some effort and are generally dealt with by the average Veteran. Those who can not learn to cope will most likely become outcasts, homeless and lost. I believe there is absolutely no excuse for letting this happen to the Veterans. I asked myself now what is the government willing to do about all of this? The Military news stated that in April, Obama introduced legislation dubbed "Homes for Heroes Act". This act would establish grant and voucher programs to encourage development of affordable housing for veterans. Personally, I think this issue will definitely need more than just an act to provide a "normal life", for the veterans. Reality is that we cannot make an overnight change in helping homeless Veterans. Say mainly because war is not an easy intake in a person's life nevertheless, coming out of that "zone". Next time I see a homeless person standing in a corner holding a sign that reads "homeless veteran spare some change", I will not be judgemental.
links: http://www.nchv.org/
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles
3 comments:
wow, great topic, lots of fact and I say. I enjoyed reading even though it hits home emotionally.
THAT WAS A REALLY GOOD PAPER! VERRY INTERESTING TOPIC :]
EASYBIB.COM for the proper citation format...
Where is the attention getter? Tell a story or something! There's such good info here and such a relevant topic (see the other comments) -- think of how to sell it better to the audience.
This is better, but still needs some overall work in terms of control of topic (look to your topic sentences of each paragraph) and authority.
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