Veterans‒the brave men and women who served to protect our country and the rights it offers‒are a group of people at high risk for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as well as resulting unemployment and homelessness. Statistically, the rate of unemployment for veterans is higher than the national average, and it is estimated that up to 40,000 veterans are homeless at any given time (1). While veterans are not the only group of people who can be diagnosed with PTSD, there is a great risk due to the dangers and stresses of military training and combat (2). Those affected by PTSD are more likely to suffer from depression and substance abuse, which is one of many possible factors that leads to unemployment in veterans (3). Another factor includes the unfortunate reality that the skills learned in the military do not always translate well to those necessary for employment in the civilian sector. The sad truth is that this list of possible reasons for the mishaps of veterans could continue on, and only makes it more clear that these people are in need of our help.
One organization working to do so is The Mission Continues, a national organization whose mission is to “empower veterans who are adjusting to life at home to find purpose through community impact.” To do this, the organization facilitates community service opportunities for veterans to work alongside community officials and other volunteers to create long-lasting solutions to some of the pressing issues of our communities, and our country as a whole. Their events range in size from large scale renovations of schools and parks to packing food for the hungry or painting fences at playgrounds. Overall, the goal of the organization is to help participating veterans make meaningful relationships with community leaders and possible employers, gain valuable skills needed for civilian jobs, and even gain a sense of belonging in the civilian world that helps reintegrate into society after military life.
Not only does The Mission Continues have a large and lasting impact within communities across America, but it has also been shown to be a financially stable organization. In 2016, over 700 service projects were completed and engaged over 17,500 veterans in the process. This correlates to over 200,000 hours of service worth over $4 million. Financially, the organization has a great track record, as it earned 4 stars and a rating of 100 overall on Charity Navigator. Further information on their financials can be found in the IRS 990 form attached below.
For those of you wondering what our donation will do: despite the organization having such a large revenue, the idea that every donation counts still applies. While our small donation will not build a school, it is possible that our around 70 dollar donation could go towards food that the organization gives to the hungry or to supplies to run one of their many small events.
Not only is the need for the betterment of veteran welfare one important to our society, but it is also one very important to me because my brother is an active duty serviceman of the United States Army. He is an enlisted member of the infantry, and is stationed in Fort Wainwright, Alaska. Even though he is still serving and is currently employed, I am concerned for his future after the military. Like many other veterans, he has no form of post-secondary education and has only the skills that he learned within the military, which, as stated above, will not necessarily translate well to the civilian world.
Of course, I would never let my brother live on the street, but what about all the other veterans and current service members who do not have the same opportunity? These are people who were willing to lay their lives on the line to protect us, our country, and our civil liberties. While we could never possibly pay them back for their great sacrifice, a small donation to help them better their lives is a good start.
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Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteHelping veterans has not been something our class has addressed this semester, so I am pleasantly surprised that you are putting your emphasis on this issue area.
I agree that it is vital to help veterans, because they dedicate their lives to help us live a peaceful life. The consequences veterans carry with them after deployment are life changing and therefore, veterans often need special assistance to sustain in our fast moving society.
In my opinion, the most effective way to help veterans after they are re-socializing in our society is to devote resources on an individual basis. This includes mental health counseling, to prevent and overcome issue such as PTSD.
Even though it is important to teach veterans skills with which they are able to make a difference within our community, I believe that we need to help veterans mentally first, to create long term achievements. When people are in a stable mental state, they are able to better socialize and sustain.
An organization I have stumbled upon during my further research on the topic is Giveanhour. This organization is a non-profit that employs trained volunteers to assist veterans and other people with mental health issues. They have been given 4 stars from Charity Navigator and have shown that they are able to better veterans lives through their individualized mental health treatment programs.
I really enjoyed reading your blog post, because it offered a personal connection to a long lasting issue we have in our society.
Below is the link to Giveanhour
https://giveanhour.org
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteFirst off, your argument for this organization is among the most solid I have ever read; it is a great cause, the concept of what "The Mission Continues" does is something which seems like is a great way to help give back to veterans who have given up so much to keep our country safe, and most of all, your connection to this cause could not be more personal, and yet you have done the proper research to ensure that this organization is financially and practically stable. For this, I commend you.
In addition, something within your argument which very much stuck out to me was that: "Those affected by PTSD are more likely to suffer from depression and substance abuse, which is one of many possible factors that leads to unemployment in veterans...." This brings us back to the previously discussed subject of underlying causes within an issue area; the fact that you identified that veterans can abuse substances as a result of depression caused by PTSD helps shed some light on issue areas such as the opioid crisis and poverty. If veterans are struggling to find jobs and in turn abusing substances, then it is in-fact a possibility that the good which this organization does results in a slight "ripple-effect," helping to fix other issue areas such as the opioid crisis and poverty; if veterans can get the necessary social experience to get a decent job within their respective communities, then they would not feel a need to turn to drugs, hence the "ripple-effect."
Overall, I believe you did a fantastic job of finding an organization which is a good balance between head and heart: the cause is great, the concept makes sense, and the resulting "ripple-effect" which this organization creates within multiple issue areas can indirectly
maximize the impact of every donation they recieve.
Spectacular job.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your personal story that connects you to this cause. It is so important that we take care of our veterans after they serve. Unfortunately, like you wrote, many veterans don't have the family support system that most of us have. Affordable housing, healthcare, and livable income are essential parts of a sustainable lifestyle that we take for granted too often. I like TMC's idea of using military-like structure to organize and deploy veterans on community projects. For veterans, it combines the familiarity of military structure with the professional development and community impact of local projects.
One interesting idea from one of your sources writes that often the most effective non-profits are veteran-to-veteran ones. I believe this is because nobody knows the needs of a veteran better than another veteran. Thus, creating communities of veterans and connecting veterans to other ones is very important for their health and social support. Enabling veterans to connect with others allows for veterans to improve on employable skills, mental health, among other things. TMC's programs address the need for veterans to become employable and make a living to address housing with.
I urge us all to better support your friends and family; to create that family network which can help those in trouble get back on their feet. The sad truth is that many veterans do not have this foundation. But through promoting and advocating for this kind of support in your own community, we will be ready to help a struggling veteran when they return to a local area. This, I believe, is one of the core changes that can help ameliorate many veterans' problems because a family support system can be very powerful in fixing problems.
Great post. Looking forward to hearing more about this and philanthropy for veterans soon.
P.S. I also appreciate that we now have come to include the 990 and Charity rating stats regularly--now that we can actually understand those data!
Hi Sarah!
ReplyDeleteI must say this organization is very different from the others we have encountered in class. It certainly had me thinking whether the country has spend enough time to address the issues of the many veterans who so bravely served their country. These are people who should be honored and it is unfortunate and disheartening that they don’t get the treatment that deserve.
The truth is that we all have heard many stories regarding the the lives of veterans after the military and from my experience many of these stories were not happy ones. From what I have head and read from the articles you provided, veterans face a myriad of challenges which immensely negatively impacts their lives.
One of the articles noted that along with everything that veterans face including PTSD, they lack a social support network. As such I really like that the mission of this organization because I believe that they work to fill that gap by being a support system for veterans through the many opportunities they provide. By having the chance to build strong relationships with the community and community leaders, they not only learn how to function well in society but could gain meaningful skills. Based on ratings from sources such as the charity navigator, the organization seems to be successful in its mission and so though our small donation may not make a huge impact we can be content knowing that it is being put to good use.
Lastly, I love the personal aspect of your post as it allows us to see why this organization means alot to you. I agree that we should do what we can to help veterans because they deserve more than they are currently receiving.
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ReplyDeleteHi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI have to say this is a great organization you pitched! I can say that because I have the privilege to volunteer for the organization for about a year in 2015 when I lived in Philadelphia. During that year, I worked with some of the senior members of the organization who are mostly veterans. I participated in things like event planning, promotion and public engagement events as well as house cleaning in one of their veteran homes. They were all unforgettable experience to say the least.
Just like you mentioned, TMC helps empower veterans who are in fact a very vulnerable group in our society, who struggle to gain the recognition they deserve. Not only do the organization provides shelter and financial stability to those veterans, what is most important is that they take in those veterans who are enduring hardships and make them a part of the organization. This is enormous in my opinion because it is what many veterans need the most. Let alone the years of traumatic experience they suffered, the stress, mental pressure, many of them lack objectives when they retire from the military and enter the society. That and the mental illnesses which many of them suffer from make them vulnerable to drugs, mental breakdown as well as homelessness.
The society need to accept the fact that veterans, who help us defend the ideology we believe in and the happy life we get to enjoy are in need of our help too, we should reciprocate for what they have done for us. The Mission Continues truly serves this purpose well, so it is a great organization to donate to.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing a new topic into the discussion. The Mission Continues seems to be an organization that not only benefits veterans, but also the communities they volunteer in. I appreciate its efforts to include veterans and non-veterans in their programs such as one allowing people to join “service platoons”. I also see that they are transparent in regards to handling money, and have information clearly outlined on their website.
One thing that I would like to see The Mission Continues do is open up opportunities such as their “Mass Deployment” program to people who are living outside of their listed 40 metro areas (but still within the United States). Because the program pays for the travel costs of the crew members and ambassadors, I would be interested in seeing why only veterans living in the listed areas could apply. Afterall, another area not listed could actually cost the organization less. I am also interested in seeing how they select veterans for their programs, and how different given circumstances affect each applicant’s chance of admission.
Finally, I would like to know why you chose The Mission Continues. According to guidestar.org, there are “[m]ore than 45,000 nonprofits devoted to veterans and their families”. What about this nonprofit stood out to you?
A big thank you to your brother and family for service to our country.
Sincerely,
Hannah
http://www.guidestar.org/downloadable-files/us-veterans-organizations.pdf
Sarah,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, thank you for bringing up a topic that the class has yet to address, yet it means so much to me. As the daughter of a veteran, I have seen first-hand how important these organizations are. It is often a very hard process to get financial compensation for injuries (including PTSD) that happen in combat, as well as injuries that happen throughout one's career (training, for example).
I grew up in and am still largely a part of a community of veterans - my dad, his friends, coworkers, my friends and their families, and so on. Many of my friends' parents are still active duty, so the military is very gracious to these people and give them the benefits they deserve. However, what a lot of people don't realize, is that once you retire, these benefits are cut greatly, with some people affected more than others. In recent years, politicians have pushed to cut the military budget down significantly, which will only hurt these veterans even more.
I agree with you in the fact that veterans are often neglected. They are treated with respect, honor, and a great deal of benefits while they are active duty, but often thrown onto the streets (literally) when their time is over.
The Mission Continues seems to be an amazing organization that tackles a huge issue. Great post!