VETERANS NATIONAL RECOVERY CENTER FOR THE HOMELESS & PTSD DISTRESSED

VNRC WORKS TO BUILD AWARENESS AND WORKS TO BUILD PEOPLE
The VNRC works to build awareness of veterans’ problems at the big picture level, as well as at the very personal level. We do this because of the invisible wounds of war are easily overlooked by law enforcement, families, friends, employers, policy makers and even the medical community. The invisible wounds come from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, Military Sexual Trauma, and the occasional fraudulent treatment of these afflictions in the military or the VA, such as in the improper issuance of discharges for personality disorder, bad conduct and the like.
Failure to understand what is happening is as easy as falling off a log, simply because the wounds are both invisible and clinical. That this is happening within the impacted veteran can make his or her actions incomprehensible to others. Most people, when they do not understand something or someone, will tend to withdraw. That can leave a veteran in an emotional and physical isolation. That in turn can lead to the harder parts of life: broken marriages and friendships, alienation from children, prison time, firings, medical disasters and yes, even suicides.
Awareness building comes from keeping a high profile that allows messages to be heard and digested. We pursue this through our web site and Facebook Page, press releases, speaking engagements and networking.
We place a high priority on education and outreach because many Americans do not fully understand the problems of veterans with invisible wounds like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury and Military Sexual Trauma.
An example of public education is our efforts to inform the public about the impact of fireworks (especially unexpected explosions) on veterans with PTSD. This was necessitated by a new law in Iowa that deregulated the use of fireworks in the state. The VNRC put out press releases on the topic that were picked up throughout Iowa.
Another example of public education is VNRC’s "Veterans Black Arm Band Day for PTSD." This memorializes Richard Miles, a combat vet with PTSD who froze to death in a Des Moines Park in a unique act of suicide. This year we had a special memorial service for the 75 Iowa veterans estimated to commit suicide every year. The events have been well publicized in the state and allow us an opportunity to spread the word on what to do if there is a suicidal friend or family member. Over the years, we have had activity on both coasts.

Not only do we educate the public, we also educate veterans and their families. We find a surprising number of veterans that are either stymied and do not know where to turn for positive treatment of their afflictions, or have been so stymied within the VA system, that they need a fresh pair of eyes to look at their problem. In examples in Tennessee, Chicago, Iowa and California, the VNRC worked with veterans that had special problems getting the kind of treatment they wanted. We were able to make referrals and give advice that was accepted.
Some of our discoveries in the field do turn into policy. In 2014 we began to run into several military rape and sexual harassment victims. We found that generally it was difficult for these women to get command attention paid to the incident, and, we found that records concerning the rapes and sexual assaults were disappearing. A significant number of these incidents occurred in the National Guard. We reviewed the legal circumstances and created a proposal which was taken to the Iowa legislature by volunteers. This resulted in the nation's first state law relating to military sexual trauma in the National Guard and Reserve during duty not under a federal activation order.
b. We also have a heart for burn injuries in veterans and build awareness of them because they are the most difficult and painful wounds to deal with. This spring VNRC is planning to apply for a grant from the Gates Foundation to address this difficult problem.
Another program area is work with the community of Hot Springs, South Dakota to repurpose a VA hospital that may be closing. VNRC worked with the Hot Springs Community to develop a plan for the repurposing of the Hot Springs VA Hospital if the VA decides to close it. Ultimately, this did not occur, but it allowed VNRC to develop a great deal of capacity in medical facility planning and some of that experience will be put to good purpose in the VNRC application to the Gates Foundation this spring.