Veterans: They fought for us, now let's fight for them

By Sesa Graham

With Veterans Day, we celebrate those who fought for our country and freedom. When you think of Veterans Day, you may think of red, white, and blue. You may think of a relative that is a veteran. When I think about Veterans Day, I think about all of those too, but I also have the aftermath of what happened to those people when they become veterans on my mind. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, and homelessness are all common factors with veterans.

According to The American Homefront Project, thirty percent of Vietnam War Veterans currently have PTSD or had some form of PTSD in the past. Twelve percent of Desert Storm Veterans have PTSD. PTSD has been diagnosed in 11 to 20 percent of Veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. These numbers may seem small, but since April 2021, there have been around 19 million U.S. veterans. Many veterans do not receive the care they need, and without the proper help, veterans can turn to substance abuse to cope. You may ask yourself why this is common for veterans. An explanation for this could be that veterans lack support from their community. Veterans may struggle when it comes to readjusting to civilian life and lack knowledge about the veteran rehabilitation resources available, making them feel isolated with no help.

Veterans with PTSD have often been prescribed anxiety medications, many of them being highly addictive. To prevent the risk of addiction, doctors have sometimes prescribed non-addictive antidepressant medication such as Zoloft or Paxil. But even those veterans who don’t have PTSD can become addicted to painkillers prescribed to them for combat-related injuries. While serving, few service members will risk using illegal drugs because, if caught, it can result in a dishonorable discharge. On the other hand, drinking is an ingrained part of military culture that often carries into civilian life once retired. This leads to veterans and service members self-medicating with alcohol that can soon lead to an addiction. According to Addiction Center, approximately 20% of service members reported binge drinking at least once a week, and this rate is even high for those with combat exposure.

“Invisible wounds” are still real wounds.

Even before the pandemic hit, the numbers of homeless veterans were rising. In 2020, there were about 37,252 homeless veterans. 40.8% being unsheltered. One homeless veteran is too many. In Michigan alone, there were 639 homeless veterans. Can you believe that? To know the ones that fought for our country, fought for our freedom, left their families behind, and put their own lives in danger are homeless is heartbreaking.

So on Veterans Day, remember those who sacrificed everything by fighting for our country and remember the ones fighting today. The ones still fighting for our country, fighting against their PTSD, fighting against their substance abuse, and fighting to find a warm place to sleep. The numbers are going to keep rising unless something is done to help those who need us. They fought for us, now let’s fight for them.

You can help a veteran by: