Swords to Plowshares

AVC believes that the best way to honor our veterans is by taking tangible actions that help to improve the quality of their everyday lives. They support veterans in their times of need by providing financial assistance toward living expenses, medical expenses, counseling expenses, temporary housing and transportation.

www.american-veterans.org

Do you know where each of the Presidential Candidates stands on veteran’s issues?

The following links will take you directly to their web pages focused on veteran issues. We encourage you to take a moment to consider their positions before you vote in the general election.

Mental Health: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Traumatic Brain Injury, Suicide (pdf link):

Veterans face innumerable mental hazards while serving in the armed forces. Typically, upon their return home from a deployment, military personnel and their families encounter a myriad of issues. The anticipation of homecoming often causes idealistic expectations and pressures of reunification. This coupled with potential separation from the military and pending transitions into civilian life often cause feelings of anxiety, anger, and resentment between a service member and their family. Moreover, personnel and veterans recently returning from combat may, at the very least, struggle to assimilate back into a civilian lifestyle. It is not uncommon for veterans and personnel to experience sensitivity to loud noises, difficulty sleeping, irritability, and difficulty concentrating.

The nature of military efforts often exposes combat veterans to violence and death. As a result, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have relatively high instances of mental health disorders. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) are “signature” injuries of recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

www.seamlesstransition.va.gov

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) web site for returning Active Duty, National Guard and Reserve service members of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF).
This is the catch all site for all GWOT veterans. It can be hard to navigate at times, but it is a clearing house for nearly all benefits and health related issues. For medical, or any mental health, substance abuse, OIF/OEF, or MST issues.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/heart/
Documentary on PTSD – streaming video, resources and background material.

www.dvbic.org/

The mission of the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) is to serve active duty military, their dependents and veterans with traumatic brain injury (TBI) through state-of-the-art medical care, innovative clinical research initiatives and educational programs.

www.ncptsd.va.gov

The National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD) aims to advance the clinical care and social welfare of U.S. Veterans through research, education and training on PTSD and stress-related disorders.

www.operationhomefront.net

Operation Homefront provides emergency assistance and morale to our troops, to the families they leave behind, and to wounded warriors when they return home. A nonprofit 501(c)3 founded after September 11, Operation Homefront leads more than 4,000 volunteers in 31 chapters nationwide. Since its inception, Operation Homefront has provided critical assistance to more than 45,000 military families in need.

www.easterseals.com/…ntl_veterans_tbi_pilot_form

Three Easter Seals affiliates in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas; Hartford, Connecticut; and Sacramento, California — with funding from the Ludy Family Foundation — are conducting a project to help returning service members and veterans that may have symptoms associated with a TBI.

TraumaticBrainInjury.Com

“Traumatic Brain Injury.com is a project of Traumatic Brain Injury.com, LLC. The site is sponsored by and paid for by the Law Firm of Cohen, Placitella and Roth, P.C., with offices in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Our mission is to be the leading Internet resource for education, advocacy, research and support for brain injury survivors, their families, and medical and rehabilitation professionals.”

www.neuroskills.com

The TBI Resource Guide is a source of information, services and products relating to traumatic brain injury, brain injury recovery, and post-acute rehabilitation.

www.biausa.org

Founded in 1980, the Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) is the leading national organization serving and representing individuals, families and professionals who are touched by a life-altering, often devastating, traumatic brain injury (TBI). Together with its network of more than 40 chartered state affiliates, as well as hundreds of local chapters and support groups across the country, the BIAA provides information, education and support to assist the 5.3 million Americans currently living with traumatic brain injury and their families.

www.tbiguide.com

This online book explains head injury in clear, easy to understand language. Most say the available material is too medical or too difficult to read. The goal of this online book is to better prepare the head injured person and family for the long road ahead.

http://www.dvbic.org/cms.php?p=About_us

www.tirrfoundation.org

TIRR Foundation founded, directs and funds Mission Connect, a collaborative research project focused on the discovery of treatments and cures for central nervous system damage caused by brain injuries and stroke, and paralysis caused by spinal cord injuries. The foundation continues to support summer camps and sports teams for wheel chair dependant children. The foundation’s early dedication to improving patient care continues as does the goal to ensure neurologically injured patients receive the highest level of care and greatest opportunity for recovery.

www.ptsdhelp.net

In addition to providing free basic information to veterans, this site is intended to serve as a clearinghouse for practical ideas to help them and their families.

www.onefreedom.org

ONE Freedom provides education and training for our nation’s warriors and their families regarding the challenges of military deployments and the return to home. The programs help the individual, the family and the community by teaching the natural elements of the stress response and self-guided tools for increasing personal resiliency and strength.

www.mvrd.org

A resource directory for active-duty troops, veterans, and others who are concerned about the military’s mandatory bioterrorism vaccines. Here you will find an overview of these vaccines, the latest news, support groups, health care tips, medical and legal resources, and more.

www.mercymedical.org
www.aircompassionforveterans.org

The mission and purpose of Air Compassion For Veterans (ACV) is to ensure that no financially-needy veteran / active duty military person or their family member(s) is denied access to distant specialized medical evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, or rehabilitation for lack of a means of long-distance medical air transportation.

http://www.tricare.mil/

Authorized users can schedule & view appointments; access approved health content; access personal health information; use pharmacy tools; check medications; access military staff applications and more.

ptsdcombat.blogspot.com

While a wide variety of events can trigger post-traumatic stress disorder, this PTSD blog focuses solely on the combat-related variety. As a new generation of combat vets returns to civilian life and seeks out resources, PTSD Combat is here to help.

Stephanie Buckley
525 East Bonanza Street
Las Vegas, NV 89101
Phone: 702.366.0456
Fax: 702.310.6862
E-Mail: sbuckley@usvetsinc.org

*also provides services for gambling addiction

Greg McCormack
2001 River Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90810
Phone: 562.388.8016
Fax: 562.388.7991
E-Mail: gmccormack@usvetsinc.org

Stephen Cunniff
17 Court Street
Boston, Massachusetts, 02108,
Ph: 617-371-1701
www.neshv.org