Some veterans’ health care treatments are not funded. Our veterans need better access to health care. These veterans fought for our country. The least we could do is help take care of them when they come home. They respected us enough to go out and fight for our freedom. It’s the least we can do.

Some mental health issues veterans face are post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety. PTSD is when someone is having a hard time recovering from a terrifying event. Bipolar disorder is marked by episodes of mood swings. Depression is a loss in activities and becoming sadder daily. Anxiety is persistent worrying about anything and everything.  

“Nearly one-third of all veterans surveyed screened positive for probable PTSD and/or depression. A more alarming statistic indicates that more veterans have committed suicide than have died in combat from the current conflicts. Many veterans will not access mental health services through the Veteran Affairs (VA) health system for fear of being labeled or jeopardizing future opportunities,” according to the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. 

We need to better refer veterans and their families to ways to get help. We need to get government officials and community leaders together to create processes for care coordination within our community. 

More than 1.7 million veterans have mental health issues. We should help these veterans because they fought for our freedom and put their life at risk for us. 

Paige Hatt

Grade 8