Banks Help fund Veteran Housing

Veterans have contributed to the strength and well-being of our country in a way that many American citizens may take for granted. Veterans have given of their time, effort, and energy as well as their very lives to sacrifice for the safety and prosperity of the United States.

As they return home from service, many find the transition extremely difficult. Whereas they have been surrounded by battle and weapons, constantly living in survival mode, they must learn to deal with daily life in everyday America.

With all the factors involved, such as health issues, injuries, lack of job training or opportunities, many veterans get stuck in limbo or worse find themselves living on the streets.

Many feel this is an injustice and that there needs to be more done to to help our Veterans comfortably transition to daily life.

In 2011, administration groups as well as financial providers recognize the need for providing affordable, quality housing for Veterans. An example of this is the Huntington Bank along with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs are working together to financially provide rental housing for Veterans in five Ohio and Michigan cities(Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, and Northern Michigan). The Huntington Bank is grateful to have received a 3 million dollar grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati to help fund the construction project. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs will also be contributing a large sum of money to make up the majority of the difference for the 11 million dollar project.

This effort is not only well meant, but will greatly help the Veterans who need that extra boost in the transition process. As Veterans take advantage of this rental housing, they will have to worry less about finding shelter and can focus more on employment, family, and continuing to contribute meaningfully to society.

Filed Under: Protests, Volunteering Tagged With: , ,

Volunteer Abroad Instead

Instead of us looking at new countries to go to war with, maybe we could look at ways in which we can help other countries out there. One way that might be an enjoyable and beneficial experience is volunteering abroad. There are so many volunteer organizations that are not able to fill the amount of spaces that they have. There are so many countries that need people from other nations to help them get on their feet.

Volunteering abroad is one way to extend the hand of peace and friendship to another country. This is a great way to invest into another country’s future. Another benefit of volunteering abroad is the ability to learn more about the language, culture, and beliefs of another country. You cannot truly know someone from another culture until you have interacted with them on a daily basis. This is an adventure in itself. You will be able to see all of the areas that your country has in common with another country, as well as the differences.

This is a great way to bring people from different cultures together for a common goal of trying to improve a nation. If you are seriously considering volunteering abroad, there are quite a number of volunteer organizations that might be of help. They can send you more information about the various countries and programs available for you to volunteer with. If you already know the country you would like to go to or the type of volunteer work you would like to do, this is even better.

Each program will be different so it is just a matter of contacting the local office in your country to get the application process started. They will be able to educate you on what is needed and what funds should you have available. Some of these programs even provide a small stipend.

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How to Help Military Families

No matter your stance on the war. No matter your politics, views toward leaders or conflict in general. Military families who have lost someone have made a sacrifice that most of us can’t and won’t ever understand. They don’t deserve disrespect for being part of something not approved of. They deserve help and emotional support for their loss.

You can help by supporting our troops. Supporting the troops is not supporting the war. It’s encouraging the individuals who have been and are being affected by war and telling them that they are not forgotten and that the anti-war protests back home are not directed at them.

Support the troops’ families. Whether the family has lost someone or not, there is an absence in their life. A child, spouse, or parent is gone. In the case of a young family, it’s often the primary breadwinner that is gone. The family back home could use some help.

There are a number of charities and organizations dedicated to helping military families. One of them is No Greater Sacrifice (nogreatersacrifice.org). NGS was “created to help educate the children of those in the armed forces who have been permanently wounded or have fallen in the line of duty.” NGS puts together events to raise funds for support programs and provides scholarships to family members. Other organizations like Operation Homefront (operationhomefront.net) and Scholarships for Military Children (militaryscholar.org) also work to help military families.

Of course, it doesn’t take just money to help. You can volunteer. You can lend an ear and provide emotional support. You can provide meals, baby-sit, or adopt a military family.

Military families need our support. Helping the families is not approving of the war. They are under the stress of a temporary or permanent loss in their home and could use someone or something to help get through that.

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Peace is The Answer

In a perfect world, everyone would love everyone, and there would be no conflict. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world, and war does exist. We are fighting for peace and to protect our freedom. In the United States we have very dedicated men and women who are willing to put their lives on the line to do just that, protect us. Military families know all too well the effects of fighting for our freedom. They kiss their loved ones goodbye, and send them off to that unknown place, the war zone. They do not know when, or even if, they will see them again. There are many volunteer organizations to help these families cope. There are support groups to help them through the difficult times, when their loved ones are not with them, and they do not have any contact with them. There are organizations that allow these families to get together and at least, be with others who are experiencing the same sense of fear and uncertainty.

Hopefully, the soldiers will return, veterans of a war. This can be a very difficult time for both the soldier and his family. There are many organizations to help with this difficult time. There are Veterans’ hospitals all across the country to deal with physical injuries, which can range from not so serious, to loss of limbs, which require many surgeries and possibly prosthetic limbs. Another casualty of war can be the PTSD, or post traumatic stress disorder. Many of our brave have to relive the horror of seeing innocent people killed or the feeling of being threatened on a daily basis, in their minds. This disability requires ongoing psychiatric care and, wtih time and patience, hopefully a way back to their “life before war.”

Obviously peace is the answer, but until then at least we have organizations and efforts to help our soldiers cope with their experience.

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Filed Under: Protests, Training, Volunteering Tagged With: , ,

Your Own Efforts To End The War

Ending the war has not been easy and will not get easier. Saying goodbye to a military presence in a foreign soil will be much easier to dream about than it will be to actually do. There is nothing about ending the war that has been a piece of cake. So, that means that efforts must still be taken to bring the troops home. So if you haven’t had a chance to get the war efforts working out in your area here are some very simple things you can do to end the war once and for all.

The first thing you can do is write to the people in charge. You elected your current senator. Let them know how this war affects you and your family. Let them know that in no uncertain terms that if they vote for bills and amendments to other bills that will result in troops spending further time overseas in a war that they will deal with you starting an effort to get them out of office. These aren’t kind words but they are the only words worth getting your senators attention.

You might feel like it’s high time you started your own charity to help out the troops but you’d be better off hooking yourself up with an organization with an established history and solid standing in the community. You are going to need their already established connections to make things happen.

That doesn’t mean you can only be a quiet participant. The truth of the matter is that you can be far more than that. All you have to do is step up your efforts by volunteering for everything you can. Now, once you have explored these avenues you will find yourself feeling good about the hopes of bringing the troops home safe and sound.

Filed Under: Operations, Volunteering Tagged With: , ,

Dealing With The Soldiers Home From War

If you are the spouse of someone who is currently serving overseas you are probably excited for the day they will be returning home. You might have heard that it is really soon and for that you couldn’t be happier. You are excited to think about the day they come home and life going back to normal. Well, the sad news is that once they come home things won’t be likely to return back to normal. At least not for some time anyway. If you are anticipating their arrival home then chew on these few things as you deal with a solider returning home.

Their perspective has changed. While it might not be pleasant to think about you can certainly say that you are not going to get back the same person who left. They have seen things that you can only imagine and wouldn’t ever want to. When it comes to the world around them they have their own thoughts and feelings on it and it may not be the same kind that they went to war with.

You have to be clear to them that you want them to feel comfortable at home and normal again but be ready for them to not feel normal anymore. You cannot imagine what they have gone through. They may need to sleep in a separate room or they might not like to be approached from behind. These might seem like quirks but they are essential to keeping them feeling safe.

Just know that making them feel better will take time and they may need to have the help of a licensed therapist. They need someone who has had specialty in dealing with soldiers who are returning home from war. With special help your loved one can deal with coming home form war.

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Work Together to Promote Peace

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 07: Peace groups protest t...
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In order to promote peace, people must make an effort to understand and empathize with one another. The ongoing war in Afghanistan is one example of a war that needs the attention and understanding of many so it can end and the peace process can begin.

Peaceful protests are one way people can reach out to each another and show they believe in a world without war. Protests are one of the few ways that just a few people can reach hundreds or thousands of others to promote peace. In their quest for a world without war, protesters should be careful to model the peaceful behavior they wish to see from humankind. Violent protesters detract from the message of peace they are trying to promote.

There is strength in numbers and people that wish to live in a world without war should band together and support each other. Volunteer organizations can play a huge role in the road to peace if supporters take advantage of them. By taking an active role and contributing to the group, a single person can have a huge impact on the organization’s mission. Those seeking to promote peace should work to build a volunteer group to promote peace if there is not one in their area.

Military families bear much of the brunt of war. Since 2001, many military parents have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, forcing them to leave their young children for weeks, months or even years at a time. Husbands and wives are separated, placing strain on marriages. Supporters who wish to promote peace must remember these families and look for ways to help them.

A world without peace is possible, although it will take many compassionate people working together to become a reality. People cannot rely on their leaders to promote peace, they must promote it themselves by setting good examples for others and actively working toward their goal of a peaceful world.

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Help Military Families: Make Peace, not War

"Reach Out and Read" now reaches mil...
Image by familymwr via Flickr

Everyone pays the terrible price of war in one form or another, but it is the military families, perhaps, that pay the most. If the family is extremely lucky, they must only endure the absence of their loved one for the duration of his or her tour of duty. That can be quite stressing in and of itself, never knowing for sure about the safety and well being of their brave service man or woman.

Many military families are not so lucky, however. All too often these families are faced with the tragic news of a terrible loss. If not death, then severe injury or the loss of limb that requires a prosthesis and a complete re-learning of how to do every day tasks. Then there are those military families who are grateful to have their loved one return seemingly unscathed, only to be faced with the horror that is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.

What kind of efforts are there to help these military families cope with the consequences of war? Does anyone care? Certainly there are countless organizations all over the country that are dedicated to helping military families obtain the assistance they need, whether it be financial, medical, or psychological, but these organizations tend to be small and poorly funded. Their intentions are pure, their efforts heroic, but they can only do so much.

Perhaps the best effort to help military families should come in the form of prevention. Imagine how much the need for assistance could be reduced if the country could simply make peace, not war. There will admittedly be times when war is unavoidable and necessary to protect the freedoms that are right and good for this country. Waging war merely for political agendas and financial gain, however, speaks to a distorted sense of power and entitlement. Active protests against this kind of war would do far more for military families than any amount of recovery efforts ever will.

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