I would like to take some time and talk about a subject that is very important to me.

Veteran PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) effects between 10 and 20 percent of combat veterans. I have family members who have served in combat and suffered from different degrees of this disorder. I have had friends that made the decision to serve their country in the military and returned home completely different. Some suffer from depression. Some experience high levels of anxiety or various levels of stress. Others are easily irritated and become angry at the smallest things. One of the worst forms of PTSD is suicidal thoughts and feelings. Considering what many of our veterans experienced during their service, it is understandable why their thoughts and emotions would be affected in a negative manner. One of the reasons that I decided to launch this website was to bring awareness to these problems and promote fundraising to help our veterans.

Veteran homelessness is also an issue that effects about 8 percent of our vets. often this is due to some form of PTSD, disability, or depression related alcohol and drug use. Many times our veterans return home and are afraid to talk about their mental health issues due to fear of being thought of as less than normal. Those that refrain from getting proper help or treatment for their problems can find it hard to find steady employment which commonly leads to homelessness. Once a person with mental illness becomes homeless, it becomes even more difficult to find help or employment because their focus changes to survival mode worrying about where they will sleep or when they will eat. I am aware that there are government programs to help in these situations but without someone interceding on their behalf, it can be extremely difficult for a person find the help they need. The National Coalition for homeless veterans, National Alliance to end homelessness, and Veterans Inc. are all good resources to find information or to help our homeless veterans.

Suicide has become far too common due to PTSD. It is estimated that on average 22 military veterans commit suicide each day in the United States. That averages out to about 1 veteran suicide every 65 minutes. That number doesn’t include the number of casualties that are caused from depression related alcohol and drug deaths. It is sad that American veterans who chose to serve their country are now suffering from various levels of depression or mental illness and very little progress has been made to actually help end this crisis. Fortunately, there are groups like Military Veteran Project, Mission 22, Til Valhalla Project and others who have chosen to bring awareness and help bring an end to our Military veteran suicide crisis.

I want to encourage everyone to be aware and help any time you have an opportunity to give support when you hear of veteran related charity rides or fundraisers and please offer support and help our veterans . Remember that we are the “Land of the free because of the brave “ and now they deserve our support.