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Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009

Eli Painted Crow: Be a voice for our veterans

The Veterans Administration offers a lot of programs to our vets.

It's a shame that almost none reach Merced County.

Merced County falls under the administrative jurisdiction of Fresno's Central Valley Hospital.

Requests to have some of these programs be available in Merced have largely been ignored. The response was that there was no social worker to case-manage the programs for homeless vets.

I can't see why a social worker couldn't come to Merced or be stationed at the Atwater clinic. Many veterans have to drive to Fresno for their appointments. Is it beyond staff capability to accommodate homeless veterans and offer them the programs they're entitled to?

Dr. Carolyn Hughes, the VA housing project manager in Fresno, said the VA can help homeless veterans if they are willing to move to Fresno. Does that mean they will take on all the homeless veterans and transfer them to Fresno? If so, are they advertising this so homeless veterans can make a choice?

I haven't seen one program being offered to homeless veterans here in Merced County, even though it's the responsibility of the Fresno VA. Fresno has received numerous grants and vouchers to assist homeless veterans who fall under their administration -- from Merced to Tulare -- yet it seems that all services head south, starting in Madera.

These vouchers are transferable to any county, but Merced is exempt because we don't have a social worker. Isn't there a community agency that could take it on? I thought we were supposed to be collaborating with community agencies for support.

Another issue is transportation. VA vans run as far as Madera. Merced must rely on Disabled American Veterans volunteers to take veterans to Fresno.

I suppose 12,000 veterans isn't a large enough number to get the attention of Fresno VA.

Some 200 new armed forces recruits leave Merced every year. It seems that Merced would have a stronger voice. Perhaps, we veterans haven't asked for help because we were trained while serving to "suck it up and drive on."

Are we doing a disservice to our returning soldiers?

At the Merced Stand Down in August, two Iraq veterans showed up to request services. They didn't even know what kind of services they were requesting or what was available to them. Shouldn't our county veterans service office educate our returning soldiers on how to access services, besides putting in claims?

To add further insult to injury, I went on the Network of Care for Veterans Web site, sponsored by Merced County, and searched for nearby services available to vets. It looks as if it needs some serious updating.

It makes a huge difference who talks to these vets and whether they'll feel comfortable enough to seek services -- especially women who have suffered military sexual trauma. I don't think I'd be willing to go to a group session all the way to Fresno once a week, participate in an exhausting process and then drive myself home again, especially if I had children.

How long will it be before the invisible wounds get noticed, such as traumatic brain injury or post traumatic stress disorder, if they're subdued with alcohol consumption? How about the increase of domestic violence that will affect our community? Or the incarcerations that many of our returning soldiers will encounter because we never learned to ask for help?

Will we wait until they become homeless or wind up in some other system because we waited too long?

There are many programs available to homeless veterans and returning soldiers that our community should be aware of. It's the responsibility of the county to provide the information and become advocates for our veteran population so they can get these services here.

I urge veterans and family members to e-mail Al Perry, the Fresno VA director, at al.perry@va.gov. You can be a voice for veterans and our returning soldiers who have waited long enough for help.

Eli Painted Crow is a former U.S. Army sergeant first-class who spent 22 years in the service, including a tour of Iraq.