Veterans
372 letters home: The paper trail of war
Thanksgiving Day 1942, Camp Sutton, N.C. — “…I also gave thanks for the country we live in. Honey you may not realize it but this is the most wonderful nation in all the world and if possible I’m going to do my best to help protect and defend it.” That passage is from a letter that…
Drone Exhibit a chance to highlight Veteran entrepreneurs
For many veterans, finding employment can be difficult after their time in the Armed Forces ends. Now, in KC, instead of trying to find a job, some local veterans are creating their own, with the help of organizations like Bunker Labs KC, a community of veteran startup companies.
“Telling Project” enlists local veterans to bring their experiences center stage
Jonathan Wei can pinpoint the exact moment when he realized that everything he thought he knew about those who served in the military was wrong. In 2006, Wei was teaching at the University of Oregon and was an advisor to a student veterans group there. One morning while talking with one of his students, who…
‘Housing first’ model creates a place to stay
In the post-institutionalization era of mental health treatment in America, the usual model of support for people with mental illness is temporary hospitalization and treatment following a psychotic episode, then a temporary stay in “transitional housing” before patients are expected to obtain and secure housing on their own in the private market. But some advocates think that creates dangerous instability for some people with severe and persistent mental illness. The antidote, they say, is an open-ended place to stay that allows people with a mental illness to get comfortable with their surroundings and fall into a routine that makes them better able to manage their conditions.
How committed is the VA to the Veterans Choice program? A U.S. senator from Kansas wants to know.
Millions of veterans nationwide now have a card that’s supposed to improve their access to health care. But a Kansas senator and some other members of Congress doubt the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is really serious about the new Veterans Choice Program.
In the Margins: A KC place for putting lives back together
And at a time when basic stability is most important, many felons have a difficult time finding necessities like work, health care and housing: People are notoriously reluctant to offer a job or rent an apartment to a former felon. Because of this, research shows that offenders without support systems can end up relying on a patchwork group of underfunded services including public mental health or rehab facilities, transitional housing and vocational assistance. A KC program aims to help.
Back from war, on to the farm
Veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan often have a hard time transitioning back to their civilian lives and careers. They have higher rates of divorce, depression and suicide. And they’re more likely to be unemployed than both civilians and veterans of other wars. In recent years, thousands of veterans like Creech have showed an interest in farming as a way to find peace and purpose, and several nonprofit organizations and universities have launched programs to help them pursue careers in agriculture.
Kansas veterans praise passage of mental health bill
Two Kansas soldiers treated for post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan say a bill signed this week by President Barack Obama is a good start in preventing veterans’ suicides.
Kansans react to Brownback’s LGBT decision
In the several days since Gov. Sam Brownback rescinded protected-class status for Kansas state workers who identify as LGBT, the mostly negative reactions of other politicians, journalists and Kansas citizens have crowded news sites and social media. On Tuesday, Brownback rescinded an executive order — issued by former governor Kathleen Sebelius in 2007 — that…
Facing layoffs and closures, rural hospitals push for medicaid expansion
If you’re in the market for fluorescent light bulbs, you might talk to Chris Smiley. In the past few weeks, she’s been trying to sell off what’s left of Sac-Osage Hospital. “Casework, lighting, plumping, sinks, toilets. Anything you want,” Smiley says. That’s not in her job description. She’s actually the CEO of Sac-Osage, a hospital…