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If Not Us, Who" If Not Now, When?

By Ray Parrish

Local peace and justice groups cannot make their priorities any clearer than by working in coalition with social service agencies and veteran, community and faith based groups to help vets.

After returning from Winter Soldier, it's obvious to me that a healthy and growing Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) is critical to ending the occupations of Iraq and Afganistan, getting decent treatment for the returning veterans as well as the people of those countries. IVAW has developed programs, such as their Homefront Battle Buddies to provide peer counseling, PTSD treatment, family support and help with VA claims and discharge upgrading. The more funding they get the more veterans and families they'll be able to help, including themselves. Now is the time for all the groups and individuals of the anti-war movement to show our "support for the troops" by donating to IVAW as much as we can during these hard times.

One key to this effort is Veterans Helping Veterans, (which is title of the weekly cable TV show and website that I co-host with IVAW's Jeremy Archambault). Those of us whose experiences best suit us to help these veterans and their families; VVAW, VFP, MFSO, GSFP, members of the GI Rights Hotline and many others, are beginning to work together to bring IVAW-based GI & veterans counseling to every community and military base in the nation, and beyond. It's time for mentoring and peer counseling. An example is the Citizen Soldier and VVAW sponsored, Different Drummer, which hosts the IVAW chapter at Ft. Drum. I have pending requests for similar efforts near Ft. Knox and Ft. Campbell.

The most important part of this effort is doing effective outreach to GI's, veterans, their families and friends and making contact with appropriate local counseling services. Both of these can best be accomplished by putting on hold our own anti-war sentiments. We should be confident that those who we work with will all come around to agree with us after they get a chance to recover their emotional stability and start to think rationally again. In order for us to reach as many vets as possible and gain public support for IVAW's counseling work, we will have to learn to bite our tongues at some points.

In Chicago I have been successful in selling to colleges the Vets4Vets veteran discussion groups because it is explicitly non-political, although I proudly wear my VVAW button, and provide IVAW contact info. Triton College, in the Chicago suburbs, tries to avoid the stigma of mental health by calling them "vets' club" meetings. Callers to me may be a referral from the GI Rights Hotline, so my greeting is a generic "Military and veterans counseling. This is Ray." After getting the help that they need, veterans who would never dream of coming to VVAW because of the right-wing lies, begin to question those sources. In a similar effort, I have a network of doctors and therapists volunteering to help veterans, as do other groups.

You could help a church to host weekly veteran discussion groups, or a law library to sponsor monthly veteran benefit seminars and carry relevant reference books. Providing simple referrals may inspire you to seek specialized training and more intensive work as a counselor in the GI Rights Hotline or as a veterans' advocate doing VA disability claims. The small office supporting a weekly veterans' rap group may evolve into a full-time magnet for both vets looking for help and those looking to help vets.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) affects most combat veterans to varying degrees of severity and with various symptoms. This must be kept in mind at all times. The military refuses to acknowledge that a conscience bothered by regrets or guilt is a common factor, which is why your work as an anti-war activist is so vital. While qualified mental health professionals are needed to provide therapy to these survivors, most veterans find it difficult to acknowledge that they need this help and are reluctant to ask for it. Those who are disabled the most may never get help. Your efforts to reach out to them for any reason may motivate them to talk about their experiences, which will start the healing process. Just as importantly, the vets will be in a position to find help from another vet through you.

The skill that most mental health professionals lack, and that can make you invaluable to their efforts to help veterans, is familiarity with the requirements of VA PTSD disability claims. Properly worded medical opinions can be used to prove to the VA that the PTSD is service connected for treatment and compensation. These can also be used to get less than honorable discharges upgraded by military Boards and, regardless of Board decisions, benefits in VA "character of service" hearings.

It's possible that local veteran service officers may be unwilling to help with VA claims. If you can't find local legal help, acquire the needed expertise yourself and guilt-trip the local law school into adding the service to their legal aid clinic. Being able to help vets understand the rules is the objective for most, so few will go on to the exciting word of researching records and writing appeals.

You don't have to be a lawyer or work as a VSO (Veteran Service Officer) to represent vets in VA claims. You can represent any one vet as a friend. If you pass a test, you can become an accredited Agent, represent as many as you can handle and charge a fee. Now that the $10 fee limit has been lifted, lawyers can make a living by winning VA claims. See the article on the previous page by Linda England (MFSO) for more on the recent legal training and efforts in Chicago.

For twenty years I have relied on resources from the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP). They publish the Veterans Benefits Manual (ISBN 1-4224-4057-5) and the Federal Veterans Laws, Rules and Regulations. You can order these through LexisNexis at 800-562-1197. NVLSP also publishes a Discharge Upgrade Manual, the quarterly Veterans Advocate and a Basic Training Correspondence Course on veterans' benefits. Call 202-265-8305 to order these.

You might ask the local library to order the Manual if you raise money to pay for it. Librarians are most responsive to groups who offer to help pay for books that they order, but that may not be necessary if they see that their neighbors are holding bake sales to pay for the Correspondence Course and training materials. When the books come in, have a press conference to start your outreach. Keep a small group together to undergo training and conduct monthly veterans' benefits clinics at the library, restaurant or some other meeting place.

Most American towns have a veterans' organization such as the American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars. While it may be uncomfortable for many people in the anti-war movement to reach out to these groups whose leaders have been so antagonistic to our goals, it's worth it. You will be challenging them to put aside political differences and demonstrate our common concern for the returning troops. After all, you'll be reaching out to offer help to their members and giving their members an opportunity to help their fellow vets. They will likely be more accommodating when they find that local churches and counseling agencies are also supporting this work.

All communities should have at least a small group of anti-war people reaching out to help GI's, vets and their families. Those near military bases will face a demand for these services which may overwhelm established local peace and justice resources and IVAW may actually be looking for you to join their efforts in your area. Vet Centers are swamped and there are already discouraged, young veterans sleeping in shelters and on the streets. As this forever war drags on, its support will wane, and increasing numbers of GI's, vets, family members and civilians will be joining our work. You can be the key to mobilizing local resources and people to help our vets and their families. If you're near a base, contact IVAW to volunteer your help. Go to girightshotline.org for a list of GI counseling groups to join. Or call me.