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Veteran

In:

Submitted By santiagoslaw
Words 2340
Pages 10
To: Mayor Eric Garcetti
Date: November 19, 2015
Subject: Veteran Suicide Prevention in California (Nationwide)
______________________________________________________________________________

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
“All I ever considered when I thought about suicide was the guilt I was feeling and just wanting a way out, wanting to not have those memories anymore,” said Clinton Hall, 35, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as an infantryman and now lives in Portland, Ore. His friend and fellow soldier killed himself shortly after returning home. An epidemic is raging among us and some of us have no idea the problem sits next to the very flag of freedom we encounter throughout our day. Suicide is one of the many causes of death for American military forces. A research project in 2012 reported in Times Magazine regarding active duty members of the military, shows a surprising 349 veterans took their own lives; more than the death from combat operations that year. The Veteran Affairs Department estimates that 22 vets die by their own hand every day. For a veteran, the sound of a firework can spark a flashback of war; while shopping at the aisles of the super market, a veteran may suddenly feel the need to seek cover as it reminds him of being ambushed in Iraq or Afghanistan. The reality is that our patriots are leaving one battle and returning home to another. Some veterans feel ostracized, others are homelessness, have become drug addict,, and are unemployed. These problems relate to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a mental problem that involving traumatic incidents in their lives on the battlefield that trigger flashbacks, lashing out, and suicidal thoughts. These emotions are really critical because it makes them question what you are going to do going forward to avoid these issues. All suicides are tragic, but veteran suicides are extremely complex due to the

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