Veterans of War

When veterans return home, many do not fully leave behind the horrors they face in war. The NY Times reported that last week alone, three veterans killed themselves on Department of Veterans Affairs health care properties. The VA estimates as many as one in every five veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan currently suffers from PTSD. For Vietnam veterans, the number is nearly one in three in their lifetime. Approximately 20 veterans kill themselves every single day. Homelessness, traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress and a military culture that tends to sweep things away are all aggravating factors for veterans.

Unfortunately, 70% of veterans do not regularly seeks care from the Veterans Administration. Although there are many reasons for this, the culture in the military, one of discipline, perseverance, and resilience, does not lend itself to seeking help. And in the civilian community, there remains both a stigma surrounding these problems for veterans and a general unawareness about how to help. Furthermore, the public face of the VA has all but disappeared; in 2017 only $57,000 of its $6.2 million media budget was used. Concurrently, funding for suicide research and prevention in the mental health community has been cut.

A first vital step in preventing more veteran death by suicide is reaching out to veterans and letting them know they are not alone. At 3 Generations, we aim to put faces and names to our silenced heroes. By telling their stories, we aim to bring these issues into the light and help raise awareness of the ways we in the civilian population can show gratitude to our veterans.