Patrick R. McElhiney believes that veterans need to be prioritized at the VA, and that several issues are important to outline how changes should be made to our existing care systems for veterans. The VA has been poorly providing benefits to our nation's heroes for over a decade, and we need to keep the discussion open to ensure that our veterans receive optimal care in the United States and elsewhere.
Veterans Suicide Prevention
The topic of preventing veterans suicide is very important to America, because these are our heroes that have protected our freedoms, often through war-torn countries to fight terrorists that threaten our safety and our national security. We need to ensure that all veterans receive the care that they need, and that their guns are taken away from them when they pose a risk to themselves or others. We need to be talking about this issue all the time, because one lost hero is one too many.
Veteran Homelessness
It is absolutely reprehensible that veterans are going homeless in America, after they fought so bravely for our nation. We need more support groups setup by the Federal Government to ensure that no veteran goes a single day without a shelter over their heads. Even veterans that want to be homeless need to receive mental health treatment, because there's no reason a veteran should have to try to live in the same conditions that they had in a war zone, or for other reasons.
Veterans' Healthcare
We need to ensure that veterans' healthcare is provided with the utmost care for these heroes that have fought for our nation. The VA has been riddled with problems, and our veterans deserve better than that! We need to ensure that the VA resolves all of the issues relating to veteran healthcare services being provided in our nation, such as wait times, and the ability for veterans to go outside of the VA if there is a long wait time for services. We should prioritize veterans' healthcare in all instances where it is required and necessary. We also need more mental healthcare services to be provided as needed to veterans, for conditions such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, and others. We can't let our veterans suffer any longer!
Veterans' Gun Safety
It's really difficult to talk about this issue, but we need to ensure that our veterans aren't at risk of harming themselves or others. It is the actions by a select few that ruin the trust that Americans have for all veterans. The fact of the matter is that there's probably no group of citizens that are more qualified to own weapons, and for a good reason, than our nation's heroes, but we also need to ensure that the guns are used for protection, and not for harming anyone, including themselves. There are very few cases of veterans misusing their weapons, but we need to ensure that everyone is safe, irregardless of the trust that we place in those individuals because of their service to our nation.
