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Mental Health Care For Our Soldiers!53 Signatures
Description:In a report issued December 13, 2007, Senator Pat Murray informed USA Today that the U.S. Army had provided new suicide statistics on deployed soldiers. Those numbers show 77 confirmed suicides Army-wide this year through Nov. 27 and 32 other deaths pending final determination as suicides. A total of 109 suicides this year would equal a rate of 18.4 per 100,000, the highest since the Army started counting in 1980. The civilian suicide rate was 11 per 100,000 in 2004, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "The military hasn't erased the stigma surrounding mental health issues, so troubled soldiers often do not seek help," Murray says. While the Army has increased its mandatory mental health training for soldiers, it is clearly too little, too late. Our military is stretched far beyond any reasonable limits. At the current troop levels and extended deployments, it is only reasonable to conclude that soldier suicides will continue to rise and severe mental illness among deployed soldiers will go untreated. Please help draw attention to the desperate need for full-time improved mental health care and intervention for our soldiers. Mental illness is extremely difficult to live with under the best of circumstances. Imagine, if you can, having to deal with mental illness in a war zone! Please sign the petition to support our troops, and pass it along to others. Together, we CAN bring pressure in Washington to help those soldiers who so desperately need it. Loading People... |
My husband came home from Iraq in May of this year and in August was diagnosed with PTSD and intense anger issues, it is now October and finally he has his first appointment with a dr. My personal physician has had to put me on medication to deal with him due to these problems, because of the length of time it has taken to get him help. And what is so bad about this issue is the entire time they were gone we, as spouses, were preached at about the importance of getting them the help they needed for this mental condition, but didn't know where to turn when it actually came to reality and had to wait for the military to make the necessary arrangements. Now due to this my husband has lost his civilian job and this has added more stress to the already stressful situation. So how and where do I sign?
Mary Beth, this young woman is just one of many whose health is at risk and being ignored by the government. I hope she will find the mental health care that she needs, and soon! - Carol
Last night someone just told me about their daughter whose job was to guard soldier corpses in Iraq. She just came back home with a discharge due to stress. The mom says she's not right and that they are keeping an eye on her. Bummer.
Please read this campaign and consider signing it. Our soldiers are in desperate need and their mental health care needs are being politicized instead of addressed. Thanks! - Carol