Editorial

Honor our Veterans, in word and in deed

Posted 11/6/19

On Monday, we pay our annual tribute to all of those who served in the military with a host of services throughout the region, and many special activities. Many organizations and businesses have …

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Editorial

Honor our Veterans, in word and in deed

Posted

On Monday, we pay our annual tribute to all of those who served in the military with a host of services throughout the region, and many special activities. Many organizations and businesses have found creative ways to honor vets, including free lunches in many places, and discounts to anyone in uniform or who can show an honorable discharge from the service. Sobering numbers, however, tell us that many Veterans need more than a well-intentioned pat on the back.

Today’s Veterans face inadequate physical and mental health care, poverty, homelessness and suicide at staggering numbers.

There were more than 6,000 reported veteran suicides every year from 2008-16, according to the 2005-16 Veterans Administration (VA) National Suicide Data Report. The same report indicated that as of 2016, the suicide rate for veterans was 1.5 times higher than for non-veteran adults. New York State recorded 136 veteran suicides in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans affairs. The highest number (45) was in the 55-74 age group, followed by 40 in the 35-54 age group. Nineteen suicides have occurred on VA campuses from October 2017 to November 2018 ― seven of them in parking lots, according to data the Washington Post obtained from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Some are worried that this is a gruesome form of protest by veterans to highlight how little help they were given in their time of need by the VA system.

The National Veterans Foundation reports that almost 1.5 million veterans live in poverty in the United States. The veteran poverty rate for vets between 18 and 34 years old is higher than all other age groups. This group, of course, means that the veterans of the Gulf War and Afghanistan have higher poverty rates than other veterans.

NVF also reports that Veterans are also using food stamps in larger numbers than ever before. Although the rate is still lower than for non-veterans, it is rising at a much faster pace. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has seen an unprecedented rise in usage over the last six years, and veterans have been applying to the program to make ends meet. Almost a million households with veterans living in them receive SNAP.

Although a smaller percentage of Veterans live below the poverty line than those of other demographic groups, the number and the level of shame, is still too high.

Too many Vets are homeless. ABC news reported on March 23, 2019 that nearly two million U.S. Veterans lack health insurance. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, there were 40,056 homeless veterans living in the U.S. in a single night in January 2017, which was a little more than nine percent of all homeless adults.

If you are a Veteran, or know of one who might benefit from some of the available outreach programs, please note the following:

The Orange County Veterans Service Agency provides outreach services at locations in Port Jervis, Middletown, Newburgh and Castle Point VA Medical Center.

Counseling is available in Goshen (111 Craigville Road) and at the Newburgh office (3 Washington Center). They can be reached at 291-2470.

The Ulster County Patriots Project also works with Soldier On to operate Patriot House: An 8-bed transitional facility for eligible single male homeless Veterans while they resolve the cause of their homeless. Contact Ulster County Veterans Services at 340-3190 or the Veterans Crisis Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 for more information.

We can, and we must, do better. Our Veterans don’t need more medals to wear or a laurel wreath, as much as they need a normal life and a caring community when they return home. That’s the very least they deserve.