This website is dedicated to the raising of awareness of the Plight of our Veterans trying to get help through the VA system! And to educate the American Public to the existence of the Vet Center program with the intent of procuring additional funding to Save Our Veterans!!! |
Save Our Vet's |
This petition started on 3/3/05 |
February 20th update: We were thrilled to hear Congressman Henry Brown, Chairman of the House Subcommittee of Health (VA), ask Dr. Jonathan Perlin specifically about Bill S.716 during their committee hearing on the VA Budget for 2007 on February 14th!! We are very grateful that Congressman Brown has responded to our requests, which has confirmed that "SaveOurVets" IS making a difference!!! Dr. Perlin, Undersecretary for Health in the VA, acknowledged the excellent job the Vet Center's are doing!! While he was not directly familiar with Bill S.716 and did not know the official position of the VA on the Bill, he DID say that he would not appose it's passage! However, no movement has been posted for the Bill as of today. |
December 22 update!! WONDERFUL NEWS!!!!! In an extended session of the U.S. Senate, On December 22, 2005, S.716 passed with Unanimous Support! With a major scramble and call for action in the last few weeks, we sent hundreds of E-Mails, Faxes and phone calls to all of our U. S. Senators and they responded admirably in the support of our Veterans! In direct response to our request, Senator Ken Salazar(D-CO), Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) signed on as additional Co-Sponsors of Bill S.716!!!!! We applaud their support and are grateful for their willingness to step up and be accountable to our Veterans and their families! We extend our sincere gratitude to them and to Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) who wrote the Bill and the original sponsors, Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV) and Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) for their dedication and time spent in furthering our cause - the survival and expansion of the Vet Center Program! We also recognize Senator Larry Craig (R-ID), Chairman and the tireless efforts of the hard working staff at the Senate Committee of Veterans Affairs!! They responded quickly to our requests for information and helped to guide us in the direction we needed to go to insure that this Bill was called for a vote in December and Passed. We thank you!!! While this is a MAJOR victory for the care of our Veterans Mental Health, we are not done yet! Bill S.716, The "Vet Center Enhancement Act of 2005" has now been sent to the House Committee of Veterans Affairs. We now need to get this committee's support so that the Bill can go up to the Floor of the House to be voted on. It must be passed in the House if it has any chance to become a law! Know that we will continue our efforts to save our Veterans lives and insure that the help they need is available!! You have our promise on that! To help us, please send us an e-mail and we will do the rest!!! Thank you! |
February 1st Update: FRUSTRATING NEWS Opposition to S.716 by the Health Subcommittee Bill S.716 now sits in the US House of Representatives, Committee of Veterans Affairs, Subcommittee of Health. After an intense conversation with Jeffrey Weeks, Senior Staffer of the Subcommittee, it is painfully clear that the Committee is going to oppose the passage of Bill S.716 - "The Vet Center Enhancement Act of 2005". Their reasoning is that the Vet Center Program must not be effective as Benefit payments for PTSD keep going up! They insist that additional studies are needed before they will support ANY expansion of the Vet Center Program! Even though he agreed with most of what I said, even stating that this war will leave more Veterans severely effected with PTSD from any other conflict since Vietnam and that early intervention was critical, he was unshakable in his belief that this Bill is not needed and they will not support it! What they doesn't seem to get is that The Vet Center Program has nothing to do with benefits! A success within the Vet Center Program is when they save a life by preventing a suicide, or save a family through individual, couples counseling and spousal support groups; or finding a job for a Veteran through job fairs and informational program's like “How to write a successful résumé”; or diverting a foreclosure proceeding on a home through sponsoring financial seminars. These are the kind of activities that are going at Vet Centers all around the country every day! And these success stories are the ones that count!!! Anyway, the reality is - if things do not radically change in the next two weeks, Bill S.716, The Vet Center Enhancement Act of 2005 will fade away, just as the need of these Veterans is reaching a critical point and the greatest opportunity to help them is upon us. The good intension's and insight of our US Senate and US House of Representatives in allocating $2.2 Billion for the treatment of Specialty Mental Health Care (PTSD), will, in part, get syphoned away to pay for more endless and useless studies. The GAO studies they already have, say it all! (see text in box to the right). Even though he admitted that PTSD gets worse over time if left untreated, they will NOT support investing just 8% of these funds into this proven and effective program that is helping Veterans NOW! Unfortunately, it has been proven that PTSD and other readjustment issues will continue to effect our Veterans decades after the war is over. The longer it goes untreated, the more severe it gets and the harder it is to heal from. The staff to reach and help these Veterans will be needed for a very long time as the troops are being reactivated and redeployed back to Iraq and Afghanistan! Yet, even many of the GWOT Veterans that the Vet Center's have hired as outreach counselors are finding themselves reactivated and sent back too. As the funding for their jobs is almost gone and without the passage of this Bill, they will loose their jobs and the growing need for their help will go unfilled. The long and the short of it - we must appeal to our other Representatives to take another look at this Bill and garner support for it's passage! Congress must call for a vote for Bill S.716 and vote YEA, despite the complete opposition of the Subcommittee of Health. Hopefully, the wisdom, compassion and insight that encouraged them to fence $2.2 Billion dollars for the CARE of PTSD, will light the way to the passage of the Vet Center Enhancement Act of 2005! |
*Click here* to send an e-mail to your Senator, your Representative The President and to sign the petition! Please include your name, hometown, state and zip and we will do the rest! Thank you! |
Sample E-Mail: Dear Congressman, On November 17th, you voted for and passed Bill H.R. 2528, providing funding for Veterans Affairs for the year 2006. This Bill has fenced an unprecedented $2.2 Billion for Specialty Mental Health Care assuring that this funding can not be siphoned off for other purposes during the year! We thank you for that! By your vote, is obvious that you are recognizing and caring for our Veterans at this crucial time. However, there is only one way to ensure that our Veterans and their families get the best Mental Health Care possible and that is by passing Bill S. 716, VET CENTER ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2005. The Vet Center program is the only proven program with a charted record of success within the VA system. It has the full support of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), The Vietnam Veterans of America, The Paralyzed Veterans of America, AMVETS as well as the Iraq War Veterans Organization, the Woman’s Army Corp Veterans Association (WACVA), and hundreds of thousands of Veterans and their families. However, unless you take immediate action to fence the necessary funding by Sponsoring and calling for and voting for Bill S.716 in the House, this program will loose the ability to do the outreach necessary to help our returning Veterans and their families! On June 9th, James Nicholson, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, spoke before the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and declared that the VA budget was fully balanced and that no additional money was needed. He stated that he was refusing to fund any additional care for Mental Health or the Vet Center program until “HE was convinced there was a need”. You saw through his words and recognized the truth and forced him to fully address the problem by fencing the necessary funding for Mental Health. Now please take the next step by taking $180 Million of that money and fence it to fund the Vet Center Program. On December 22, Bill S.716, the Vet Center Enhancement Act of 2005, received full unanimous support and vote of the U.S. Senate. This bill was sponsored by Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI), and Co-Sponsored by Senator John Rockefeller (D-WV), Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND), Senator Ken Salazar(D-CO), Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM). They, as well as every single Senator, has recognized that our Veterans need the help and care of the Vet Center Program. It was then sent to the House Committee of Veterans Affairs where it is waiting for a Sponsor and Vote. Here's where you can help, by Sponsoring Bill S.716 to the U. S House of Representatives. By doing so, you will confirm that you care about our Veterans and want them to get the help they so desperately need! You will also earn the gratitude of hundreds of thousands Veterans and their families in your state alone. Sponsored by: SaveOurVets.com: a group of Veterans and their families that support the Vet Center Program. We have the full support of the Iraq War Veterans Organization, the Woman’s Army Corp Veterans Association (WACVA) and a membership of over 150 people. All information concerning our drive to save this wonderful program is on our web site SaveOurVets.com. |
June 9th Update: The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, James Nicholson has come out AGAINST the Vet Center Program! On June 9th, JAMES NICHOLSON,Secretary of Veterans Affairs, spoke before the COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’AFFAIRS - U. S. SENATE. In this address, he came out specifically AGAINST Bill S. 716. - the Vet Center Enhancement Act of 2005. He declared that the $180 million of additional funding for the Vet Center Program for readjustment counseling was NOT needed or justified. He also stated that the 50 additional outreach personal that this bill recommended should NOT be permanent positions. And finally, that additional bereavement counseling for families of Veterans killed in action is NOT necessary! That the Vet Center program should only work to stabilize the immediate situation only with no additional counseling allowed! Finally, when Senator Patty Murray asked him specifically: If the Senate passes these Bills, will you fund them? His response: “When and if HE is convinced that there is a need!” We find that Mr. Nicholson is ignoring the existing needs of our Veterans and is misstating those needs to the U.S. Senate. He is NOT representing the best interest of our Veterans and is actually taking direct action to destroy the Vet Center Program! He is actively seeking to direct ALL funding to the VA Hospital programs ONLY and against funding the Vet Center programs, even though it is but a tiny fraction of the $2.2 Billion he is already getting!!!!! 12 days later, the VA admitted that they are short $1 billion for covering current needs at the Department of Veterans Affairs this year.... The $1 billion shortfall emerged during an administration midyear budget review and was acknowledged only during lengthy questioning of Jonathan B. Perlin, VA undersecretary for health, by House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) at a hearing on June 23rd. Again, this was 12 days AFTER Nicholson stated that they were already providing adequate care and that the Vet Center program did NOT need the $180 Million of additional funding proposed by Bill S.716! We find his actions unconscionable! We call for the US Senate bypass this mans obvious betrayal of the very Veterans he is supposedly serving and pass Bill S.716! |
November 29th update: GOOD NEWS!!/BAD NEWS THE GOOD NEWS: is that Congress as allocated $2.2 Billion (yes, BILLION) of what the VA is receiving to go directly to Specialty Mental Health (PTSD)! YEA!! THE BAD NEWS: is that the VA is not giving ANY of it to the Vet Center Program!!! Instead they are investing ALL $2.2 Billion into the ineffective Hospital systems! But there IS something we can do about it... but we MUST do it NOW! Currently there is a Bill before Congress to fund the Vet Center Program! (tag here to see Bill S.716) We need to ask that the $180 Million (less than 10%) get diverted from the hospitals to fund this Bill! There is no time to loose, for once the VA spends it - it is gone! BUT THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN DO!!!! Just click the following link and e-mail me with the words "SEND MY E-MAILS". Include your Name, Town, State and Zip! We will then send E-Mails to your Senator, Representative and the President. We will also add your name to our Petition! Or send it yourself through the "Congress.org" website! Enter your zip code in the "Take Action Now" box and hit GO. Toggle the "Compose Your Own Letter" and take the next step! Then send them an e-mail and ask them to support his Act! Please don't delay! Do it now!!! Thank you!!! Jonelle Feel free to copy and paste the letter above.... |
Federal Insider Friday, June 24, 2005 Funds for Health Care of Veterans $1 Billion Short Link to full story! |
*Click here* to send an e-mail to your Senator, your Representative The President, and to sign the petition! Please include your name, hometown, state and zip and we will do the rest! Thank you! |
PETITION Our men and women in our Armed Services and Reserves need our help; need YOUR help! They been through Hell and many are coming home with excruciating memories and fears, to a system that has not, is not and will not be able to care for them, without change. Many of those fortunate to survive the war, are losing the battle for their lives. The Vet Center program is a proven VA program that works!!! But they are too small to be able to give the help these brave men and women need. This is what the Vet Centers need: 1) More outreach people. People who can go to the veteran when they come home! Who are trained to recognize PTSD can attend the Drill weekends and homecoming events (if any) and talk to these men and women, one on one. People to talk to the families, who are frequently first to recognize problems with their loved one’s. People who can help the Veteran get the help they need, one Veteran at a time if necessary! 2) More counselors that can actually do the counseling and provide the help necessary to stop the progression and provide RECOVERY! It IS possible, if caught early enough! Also, family counselors, and Vet Center counselors to cover VA community medical clinics for all combat vets. 3) More and better staffed Vet Centers and Vet Center “Outstations” with outreach people and counselors. This should include outstations near, but not on, all major military bases and clusters of activated Reserve units. And more Vet Center counselors to cover VA community medical clinics and help all combat vets. This will allow many returning combat vets to get help confidentially, and again, save lives. 4) The Vet Center program should be given the most credible voice in the VA regarding the needs of these new veterans. All Resources necessary to fulfill these needs must be given to the Vet Centers, or reassigned if necessary from other VA sources. This list of needs can only be met with additional funding! The ONLY funding they have received allowed them fifty new positions for outreach, less than one per state! This is but a drop in the bucket! They need more, and the ability to spend it where it is needed the most. The VA system has the Vet Centers as the proven source of helping veterans with PTSD!! More Vet Centers are needed to save their lives. It is THAT important! FUND THEM!! WE CARE! YOU MADE IT HOME, NOW STAY HERE! NO MORE DEATHS, NOT HERE, NOT NOW, NOT EVER!!!! |
ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTING THIS PETITION! |
Click here to see Amendment and Statement's made by Senator Daniel K. Akaka, Ranking Member, Committee on Veterans' Affairs April 12, 2005 Just days after receiving our e-mail! |
WACVA Eldora Engebretson, WACVA www.armywomen.org |
*Click here* to send an e-mail to your Senator, your Representative The President ,and to sign the petition! Please include your name, hometown, state and zip and we will do the rest! Thank you! |
**Click here for our Letter Writing Campaign** Our letter to Congressman Henry Brown, Chairman of the Health Subcommittee, House Committee of Veterans Affairs |
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report on February 14, 2005 stating in short - that at least 15% of the servicemen returning from warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan will develop PTSD. That PTSD can be debilitating and, if left untreated, can lead to substance abuse, sever depression and suicide! While there is NO cure for PTSD, early identification and treatment is critical in improving the quality of life! The GAO has determined that the VA has failed to met ANY of the 24 Special Committee recommendations, 10 of which were established in 1985 - 20 years ago! In addition, the VA does not intend to do so until 2007 or later! Finally, The GAO has determined that the VA is incapable of handling the new influx of veterans while still maintaining care for those of past wars. Left unchanged, the chance for early intervention will be missed! For the full summary of the report click the link above to government Reports. There you will find the full official summary of the report and another link to connect you to their website for the full report! |