Veterans fighting for support through caregiver bill, written by Taylor Dardan
As more soldiers have been sent overseas to take part in air strikes in 2011, many soldiers and veterans back home have been put in the position to fight for support. Upon returning home from battle, it’s necessary for many soldiers and veterans alike to need the support of a care giver. The problem with this is that many of these veterans and care givers aren’t given the proper support from the government in return. When the Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act was signed last year by President Obama, it was an extremely hopeful time for veterans and caregivers alike. Fast forward to almost a year later and the January 31st deadline for the program came and went with no sign of it being off the ground. What’s even more unfair is that even with this new act, it only looks to support veterans from post 2001 service, leaving a number of older veterans in the need of caregivers, without the proper support.
Congress and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have been taking quite a hit from those who aren’t very pleased with the inability to get this project off the ground. Both were apologetic in their response and releases, while they are hopeful to have the program running by the end of spring and on into summer. If the program were to finally start, it would include a number of different services for these post 2001 veterans and their caregivers. This includes support like education, health services, and lodging expenses. Certainly getting this act finally pushed through is of major importance, but getting older veterans included on the act should also be a major concern. A number of veteran support communities have been very loud in their campaign to get the proper support for all veterans, both young and old.
Certainly the need for caregivers for veterans and soldiers is more common than ever. Not only have the wounds of war taken a direct hit on many military personnel, but a great number of them have been affected by infectious diseases and mental health problems as well. Every day, soldiers are returning home with problems like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury, while many older veterans are still suffering through life threatening illnesses like mesothelioma, Parkinson’s disease and Hodgkin’s disease. The common denominator in all of these is the correlation between the health problems and these soldiers’ time in the military.
Agent Orange was known to have a large impact on many soldiers who served during the Vietnam War. This is the combination of pesticides that ran rampant all over Vietnam and was exposed to large numbers of soldiers. The exposure to these pesticides resulted in a number of health problems for veterans including Parkinson’s disease and Hodgkin’s disease. Another example of military related illness involves the use of asbestos all over the country in bases and shipyards. Workers exposed to asbestos were put in danger of developing mesothelioma symptoms and sometimes faced life threatening consequences in the process. For example, mesothelioma life expectancy is very dire and severe, sometimes as low as eight months following diagnosis. These are just two of the many examples of illnesses that plague older veterans and relate directly to their time in the military. Extending the parameters of this caregivers act would allow older veterans with military illnesses to reap the benefits they deserve for serving the country so proudly.
Even if VA, Congress, and the President were to finally get this act rocking and rolling, they should definitely explore expanding its beneficiaries in the long run. All veterans and soldiers, whether young or old, deserve to get the most support that they can in times of need. With the need for veteran and soldier care givers growing these days, expanding this act will surely see huge benefits.
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Any help our veterans can get is much appreciated.
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