美国国家公共电台 NPR VA Struggles To Reach Other-Than-Honorable-Discharge Vets In Need Of Help

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

Last year, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs offered to treat vets² who don't normally qualify for care. These are people who earned an other than honorable discharge. The problem was almost no one took them up on it. Now veterans groups are hoping a change in the law will make it easier for this group of veterans to get the health care they need. From member station KPBS in San Diego, Steve Walsh has the story.

STEVE WALSH, BYLINE³: At his home outside of San Diego, former Marine⁴ Lance Corporal Josh Onan keeps some photos next to his TV from his days as a Marine. In 2006, he was in Ramadi when his Humvee was hit by a roadside bomb.

JOSH ONAN: I remember laying in, like, laying down in the truck, waking up. There's dust. There's debris⁵ all over me. And there's an Iraqi colonel who's sitting in the truck with us, and he's just screaming, screaming. I don't understand what he's saying, so that's when I realized, like, oh, here we go. Something big's happening.

WALSH: For the next year after the explosion, he was in and out of trouble - small infractions which he chalks up to the amount of medication prescribed for his head injuries and PTSD. Then, while on leave, he was caught with a small amount of cocaine⁶. That was it. He was kicked out of the Marines. Onan looks at a picture of himself in his battle gear.

ONAN: I'm 32 years old now, and this guy's 20. And I look up to this guy. I know it's me, but I miss everything about it. Sometimes it's hard to find this guy.

WALSH: Onan is one of thousands of veterans who have an other than honorable discharge. They don't typically qualify for VA benefits, even though many, like Onan, struggle with service-related trauma⁷. It's a group with a high suicide rate.

To address that, the VA last summer started a new program. This group of veterans can come into the VA and be treated for mental health issues, at least for 90 days. We asked the VA how many people used the program in the first year. The agency gave us figures showing that, nationally, 115 veterans did - a fraction of the veterans who would now qualify for mental health care. Twenty-five of those patients were in San Diego. Dr. Neal Doran is with the San Diego VA.

NEAL DORAN: They came in saying they had an urgent need, and they were evaluated and received care for that urgent need, whether it was a substance use disorder⁸ or suicidal thoughts

WALSH: Veterans advocates are disappointed that just 115 people took advantage of the program when the VA says there are at least 500,000 veterans with other than honorable discharges. Kristofer Goldsmith is an Iraq vet¹ who works with the Vietnam Veterans of America.

KRISTOFER GOLDSMITH: It's not possible that that's the number of people who need help. It's a failure to contact them, to fully⁹ inform them and to break the stigma¹⁰.

WALSH: Vietnam Veterans of America lobbied the VA to help veterans with other than honorable discharges. Executive Director Rick Weidman says the VA just simply didn't promote the program.

RICK WEIDMAN: It's a program that most people who are eligible¹¹ for don't know about. And the reason for that is that VA refused to do any outreach.

WALSH: Dr. Keita Franklin heads the VA's suicide prevention programs. She said the VA tried to get the word out through veterans organizations.

KEITA FRANKLIN: We rolled it out rather quickly. And we just did, like, universal messaging across the board, just to get the message out, writ¹² large across the nation. And now we are programming with the Department of Defense¹³.

WALSH: The old 90-day program is about to get a much larger mandate¹⁴. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut was able to push through legislation that will require the VA to treat vets with other than honorable discharges. Murphy says, as long as their mental health issues are related to their service.

CHRIS MURPHY: If you have PTSD, and because of that PTSD you act out, you should not lose eligibility¹⁵ for your veterans benefits. That's what's been happening.

WALSH: The new law also ends the 90-day cap, which some veterans advocates say made the program even harder to navigate¹⁶. And it requires the VA to seek out people who qualify. That means service members leaving now, but also, hundreds of thousands who left with less than honorable discharges in the past. Finding those veterans will be tough.

ONAN: I felt shunned¹⁷. I still feel shunned.

WALSH: After years of being rejected, Josh Onan is now getting his PTSD treatment paid for by the VA. He says it's been a lifesaver, but he fears other veterans have already given up.

ONAN: I wouldn't be surprised if most of them weren't alive. And the reason why I say that is without treatment, without proper care or even loved ones, like, I don't think I could've done it without God and my family. I tell my wife every day, I'm done with this. I don't want to do it anymore. I'm done. I'm done.

WALSH: Murphy's legislation gave the VA 180 days to set up its outreach program. That deadline has already passed. In a written statement, the VA says it is, quote, "writing implementation¹⁸ regulations." Murphy says he has not received word from the VA about when the program will begin. For NPR News, I'm Steve Walsh in San Diego.

1 vet   

n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查

参考例句：

• I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
• Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。

2 vets   

abbr.veterans （复数）老手，退伍军人；veterinaries （复数）兽医n.兽医( vet的名词复数 )；老兵；退伍军人；兽医诊所v.审查（某人过去的记录、资格等）( vet的第三人称单数 )；调查；检查；诊疗

参考例句：

• I helped train many young vets and veterinary nurses too. 我还帮助培训了许多年青的兽医和护士。 来自互联网
• In fact, we've expanded mental health counseling and services for our vets. 实际上，我们已经扩大了退伍军人的心理健康咨询和服务。 来自互联网

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

5 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

6 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

7 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

8 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

11 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

12 writ   

n.命令状，书面命令

参考例句：

• This is a copy of a writ I received this morning.这是今早我收到的书面命令副本。
• You shouldn't treat the newspapers as if they were Holy Writ. 你不应该把报上说的话奉若神明。

13 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

14 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

15 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

16 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

17 shunned   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。
• He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人，总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 implementation   

n.实施，贯彻

参考例句：

• Implementation of the program is now well underway.这一项目的实施现在行情看好。