The attached white paper addresses issues related to the on-going
suicide epidemic among our veterans. It provides an overview of the
problem and proposes actions that can help to bring an early end to this
tragedy. Thus far, politicians and bureaucrats have been unable to
reduce the unacceptable number of veterans suicides. This despite almost
two decades, countless dollars invested and the best efforts of the
medical establishment. It is time for a new approach. It is time for
veterans to do what veterans do best. TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER. It is
time to exercise the power vested in the dozens of veteran’s service
organizations (VSO’s) and State Departments of Veterans Affairs. These
organizations are in business to provide needed services to veterans. It
is time for these organizations to step forward and demand that veterans
have insured access to alternative treatments that have been proven
safe, effective, and far less costly than not treating those with
wounded brains. I am a PTSD survivor. I served in the U.S. Marine Corps
and am currently the Chaplain of Marine Corps League Detachment 1049 as
well as a Co-founder of the Marines Helping Heroes Foundation, a
non-profit public charity dedicated to saving the lives of veterans
suffering with traumatic brain injuries (TBI’s) and post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD).
Submitted by Bill Collins, Co-Founder, Marines Helping Heroes
Foundation, Inc.
TBI-PTSD A BATTLE THAT MUST BE WON 6-23-2021