9/11: Facts
After the attack on New York City’s Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, more than a million Americans deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Today, thousands of those troops are suffering from crippling wounds. Not only physical injuries like the loss of limbs and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), but also psychological trauma, like PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Overwhelming numbers of the men and women fighting after 9/11 have had their lives destroyed, and they are not getting the help they need.
Homelessness, drug addiction, and mental illness are epidemic among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Our soldiers should have access to medical benefits because of their service, but this isn’t always the case. The Veterans Administration is a complicated system, and many veterans- especially those with serious illnesses- cannot gain access to the care they need without help.
Issues Facing Post 9/11 VeteransThousands of veterans returning to civilian life. Many of these soldiers will be suffering from the wounds of war. Some of their wounds will be obvious- missing arms, legs, burns- and some will be harder to see at first, even for the veterans themselves.
The signature wounds of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are the “invisible wounds” of war: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
Our newest generation of veterans face unique circumstances. Insurgent’s weapons of choice, Improvised Explosive Devices, have erased the line between the “front” and the “rear” in combat. Death, injury, and shock can happen at any moment, anywhere. Combined with multiple deployments, often lasting longer than a year, our troops have been exposed to a unique and violent environment.
This is also the first war when women veterans have been on the front lines- exposed to the same bullets, bombs, and danger as their male counterparts. Women veterans have other, unique problems to face as well. Nearly one in four women veterans report being the victim of sexual assault. According to the VA, more than 48,000 female veterans screened positive for Milittstsary Sexual Trauma in 2008.
Women veterans are also more likely to be single mothers, and the stress of being away from children, deployed to combat zones, and the high likelyhood of being a victim of sexual assault has led to a terrifying rise in women veteran homelessness since 9/11.
They often have an extremely difficult time readjusting to civilian life after the war. Families, friends, employers- no one seems to understand what they have gone through, and what they are still living with.Every day is Veterans Day at Swords to Plowshares. Our programs are nationally recognized as providing some of the best, most comprehensive services available to veterans in the nation today. We provide psychological counselling, job training, housing services, mental health counselling- everything a veteran and their family needs to return to civilian life as a successful and productive citizen. By supporting our programs, you can help thousands of veterans become what they are meant to be- leaders, and a valuable asset to America.
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