Edward Bevilacqua
Our mission is to help veterans acquire necessary skills so they can navigate towards a better future (i.e., lives of meaning and purpose). It doesn’t matter whether they’ve been out for a long time, a short time, or whether they are still in: we offer all the needed resources. Let’s keep it real: in 2020 almost 150 active duty Air Force personnel committed suicide --and no enough people cared enough. It turns out that a number of people join the military between the ages of 18 and 22 because they don’t have a better plan; and then a material percentage of those people still don’t have a plan upon completion of military duty (sometimes because their active duty skills do not transfer to civilian employment). The VA provides assistance to veterans; but it is not designed to help them become successful. It’s so large, bulky and mired in legacy procedures that it’s hard to adapt. It’s not designed to fix people who were broken at a very young age, by those who were supposed to protect and guide them. So, the question for those not positioned for success is, 'what are you going to do about it?' Something’s wrong with this picture. Seriously wrong! In this, the wealthiest and most productive country in the history of the world --the country with the best medicine, education, technology, with the most opportunity in the history of the world, how is it possible that veterans are still struggling? Something is very, very wrong; but again, what can be done about it? Simply accept it as a fact of life? Simply, continue to repeat the unsuccessful behavior? (Or, here’s an idea, commit to something new) OK, if the system can’t solve our problems, who can? Unqualified Family? Friends? NGO’s? Do-gooders? Pension-seeking mediocre-people paid to help? (Hint: do what others do: find professionals; not those who promote activities that lead to dependency). Society needs to understand that veterans aren’t the problem; They simply need the opportunity and means to properly prepare for their best future.
