VETERANS PROJECT

Government Alone Can't Take Care Of Our Veterans



"One organization or one government can't support the entire veteran population in the way that they need — not after over a dozen years of war with thousands of military families sacrificing,"

"But if more people pull together and take a more active approach, we'll get a lot more done."

"We have to change our thinking,"

"We can't expect our government to be the whole part and parcel of being the caretaker of men and women in the military."

Supporting the troops is not a political position, but a community responsibility. It comes down to awareness. Because less than one percent of the American population serves in the military, the majority of the country isn't attuned to veterans' everyday needs."That's a staggering statistic when you think that less than two million people defend over 300 million people,"

"So naturally there's going to be a massive part of the population that's going to have no clue as to what military service is about and what the families go through... The military serves in war, and you go to the mall."

Hundreds of non-governmental agencies provide various veterans services and all can use contributions of time, money or goods.I advocates for compulsory military or Peace Corps service for young people as a means of raising awareness of veterans' contributions."If you do that, in less than 10 years, you've created a whole generation of Americans who've had a shared experience of contributing to this country,"

While it is acknowledges the approach might be radical, the result would be a greater understanding of the sacrifices made by service members and their families. But it doesn't have to be so extreme. Just thinking about making a gesture of thanks is a good first step,