"For as long as the United States has sent its young men - and later its young women - off to war, it has watched as a segment of them come home and lose the battle with their own memories, their own scars, and wind up without homes.
"The Civil War produced thousands of wandering veterans. Frequently addicted to morphine, they were known as "tramps," searching for jobs and, in many cases, literally still tending their wounds.
"More than a decade after the end of World War I, the "Bonus Army" descended on Washington - demanding immediate payment on benefits that had been promised to them, but payable years later - and were routed by the U.S. military.
"And, most publicly and perhaps most painfully, there was Vietnam: Tens of thousands of war-weary veterans, infamously rejected or forgotten by many of their own fellow citizens.
"Now it is happening again, in small but growing numbers."
- This is an excerpt from an Associated Press article (January 19, 2008) that is well worth reading:WHY DOES JOHNNY COME MARCHING HOMELESS?
My hope is that Healing Those Who Serve will be one among many, many programs that step up to meet the needs of these returning warriors.
I am infuriated to listen to our government's battle cry to get these men and women into the battlefield, but do so little for them when they return. I believe it is our responsibility as citizens to continue to insist that government do what is right, and our responsibility to participate in the political process (i.e. be vocal about the needs of veterans, vote), but it is not enough that we simply point out the deficits in governmental policy and practice. Our nation should not be defined by its government. We, the people, are The United States of America. And so, while we become the voices of our own battle cry to insist the government do what is right, we can simultaneously step up to serve these veterans ourselves. We can do this by creating and supporting programs like Healing Those Who Serve.
I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in the creation of this program. I urge anyone who is inclined to help, to make a contribution to our efforts:
MAKE YOUR CONTRIBUTION NOW --- PLEASE & THANK YOU.
or, if not this program, find some way to contribute financially or with your time in your community. One thing I have learned in my 54 years on this earth is that when many people are willing to contribute even a little, it means a lot.
(And, for what it is worth, my FREE book offer continues: When you make a contribution of $50 or more, email me your address and I'll send you a copy of Embracing Fear.)
Later,
Thom
