It looks like a neighborhood in New Jersey is not so neighborly when it comes to veterans with PTSD, or anyone else.
"The issue has been contentious from the outset when residents first heard about it last year in September. Residents said they are not against veterans, but they worry about those suffering from PTSD, saying the building is across the street from a preschool and blocks away from East Side High School. They questioned if the facility would be just for veterans, and wanted to know what happens to veterans if IFS is unable to find permanent housing for them in 60 to 90 days.
Just an FYI for this deplorable neighborhood. They could already have people living in their neighborhood with PTSD and they just did not know it.
Wonder how this makes them feel considering when Veterans have PTSD, like they do, they were hit by it while risking their lives for citizens, just like them?
Wonder how Police Officers and Firefighters feel about this considering when they get hit by PTSD, they were also hit by it serving their communities? You know, the same kind of community who said that homeless veterans with PTSD should not live there.
Wonder how this makes the over 7 million other people in this country with PTSD feel?
That's the real problem. Uneducated folks just guessing at something they do not understand at all. Then why would you just judge someone you know nothing about and then try to block them from living next to you? It happens everyday when someone rents and apartment or sells a house. You do not know who is moving in and have no right to stop them from doing it, but apparently, it is OK to do that to veterans!
Increasingly, Maine police on front lines for mental illness interventions
PORTLAND PRESS HERALD
BY EDWARD D. MURPHY
July 15, 2018
Involuntary committals are up, as are related service calls, forcing a shift in how authorities train for and perform their jobs.
Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce poses for a portrait at the county jail on Thursday. Staff photo by Derek Davis
Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin J. Joyce said calls related to people in crisis are spiking.
Maine is seeing a surge in involuntary committals – cases where people are held for mental health issues against their will – that is changing how police do their jobs.
The number of those committals has risen steadily in the last decade, from 344 in 2009 to 401 last year, an increase of nearly 17 percent. In another measure of mental illness affecting law enforcement and the courts, the number of Mainers found not competent to stand trial has leapt from seven in 2008 to 136 last year.
As state-provided services for the mentally ill dwindle, more front-line intervention work is performed by Maine’s law enforcement community, significantly changing how police train for and perform their jobs.
The number of calls for service that were mental health-related for the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office rose from 383 in 2013 to 486 last year, an increase of nearly 27 percent. This year, the pace is continuing to rise, with 278 calls for service through early July, according to figures from the sheriff’s office. And those numbers don’t include calls for other issues – such as domestic violence or a disturbance – that are rooted in mental illness but categorized differently.
read more here
Massachusetts police officer, bystander die from gunshot wounds
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Grimes described Chesna as a 42-year-old Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran who leaves behind a wife and two children, ages 4 and 9.
WEYMOUTH, Mass. — A Massachusetts police officer and bystander died Sunday from wounds sustained when a suspect allegedly took the officer’s gun and fired following a vehicle crash and a foot chase.
Authorities said Weymouth officer Michael Chesna was shot multiple times by his own fire arm before 8 a.m. Sunday, and died from the injures at South Shore Hospital.
Officials said an unidentified elderly woman also died after being hit by stray bullets in a nearby home.
Weymouth Police Chief Richard Grimes said the shooting suspect, Emmanuel Lopes, was in custody. No additional information about Lopes has been released.
read more here
EXCLUSIVE: U.S. MARINE COUPLE FOUND GUILTY OF SENDING REVENGE PORN OF YOUNG WOMAN TO HER PARENTS
Newsweek
BY JAMES LAPORTA
7/14/18
“I’m not to be trifled with,” Marquez wrote Kate on Facebook Messenger. “Making Vince tell your dad was purely for my entertainment. You don’t want to see what I’ll do to ruin you.”
A married couple of former U.S. Marines is being held accountable for tormenting a young woman, a year after a news investigation first disclosed the abuse. 2nd Lieutenant Vincent G. Provines, an ex-U.S. Marine Reserve officer, was found guilty Wednesday of federal cyberstalking charges in the Sherman Division of the U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas.
His wife, ex-U.S. Marine Reserve Lance Corporal Cesaria “Cecy” Marquez, admitted to participating in the cyberstalking and took a plea deal in late June. The couple had threatened to post nude photos of the young woman online.
Provines’ attorney did not respond to a Newsweek request for comment. The jury deliberated for roughly five hours before returning the verdict of guilty. Provines faces a possible maximum sentence of five years in prison; a $250,000 fine; and three years of supervised probation, according to court documents. Marquez’s attorney, James Whalen, who said his client did not want to comment, told Newsweek that Marquez had agreed to five years probation. The couple is currently in divorce litigation.
The young woman (whose name is being withheld by Newsweek to protect her privacy) reached out to this reporter in March 2017 to tell her story.
read more here
Dozens of friends, family bid farewell to once unclaimed Army veteran
Hawaii News Now
Chelsea Davis
Saturday, July 14th 2018
Sands served in the Army from 1962 to 1965 as an Airborne Infantryman, and his friends say he belongs in Hawaii alongside his fellow veterans.
KANEOHE, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow)
An Army veteran whose body went unclaimed for months has been granted a final resting place at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery.
James “Jim” Sands moved to Hawaii from Texas decades ago and made several friends at the beach and at the bars. But when he died last spring — no family members came forward.
After a story about Sands aired on Memorial Day, someone tracked down his sister in Riverside, California.
His sister, Nicki, released his body to the military so he could have a military burial. And on Friday morning, dozens gathered to bid their final farewells.
"He was a great guy. He was a wonderful person. He had a great sense of humor so I've been told," said Chaplain Maj. Raymond Hawkins.
The McPhees, a couple that hadn't seen Sands in about 40 years, were among those who wanted to say goodbye.
read more here
Firefighter killed in Lincoln crash was Marine veteran
KCRA 3 News
July 13, 2018
South Placer Fire: David Volk received Purple Heart Citation after being injured in Iraq
LINCOLN, Calif. (KCRA) —
A South Placer firefighter who was killed Friday in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash on a Highway 65 off-ramp was a Marine who was wounded in Iraq, according to the fire district.
David Volk, 31, died after his motorcycle crashed on the Lincoln Boulevard off-ramp, the fire department said in a released statement.
It's unclear what time the crash happened, but the scene was discovered sometime around 6 a.m. Friday.
"We're kind of looking at everything. There's some physical evidence, there's some skid marks. So, we have to look at everything before we can make that determination," California Highway Patrol Office David Martinez said.
read more here
Engine noise in your skull
PTSD Patrol Empowerment Zone
Kathie Costos
July 15, 2018
While you wait for it to stop, more damage is done to your engine. That is the same thing with PTSD and the engine that is in your skull. Your brain is the engine that drives you!
On Bell Performance there is an article on sounds your engine should not be making.
Diagnosing Common Engine Noises - James on Engines #3
Posted by: James Dunst
The Common Problem: Engine Noises When an unfamiliar noise starts coming from somewhere under the hood, people get scared. They may not know enough about complex engine systems to know if it’s something to worry about or not.
Let’s discuss some of the source areas mechanics find to be the most common places for engine noises to originate from.
Some of the causes of this condition are improper fuel octane, engine overheating, improper ignition timing, the EGR valve not functioning properly and problems with the computer or knock sensor. All these conditions can cause the air fuel mixture in the cylinders to ignite before it’s supposed to. This creates multiple flame fronts in the cylinder fighting each other and causing the pinging and rattling noise. Check your owner’s manual to make sure you’re using the right grade of fuel. Or you can switch to a higher grade for a period and see if the noise goes away. If it doesn’t, you’ll want to look at these other possible causes.
When you are not sure about the cause of the noise you hear in your engine, you start to hope it just stops. You want your ride to go back to normal. While you wait for it to stop, more damage is done to your engine.
That is the same thing with PTSD and the engine that is in your skull. Your brain is the engine that drives you!
read more here
Shots fired at Clinton police officers during standoff
KMBC 9 ABC News
July 14, 2018
Standoff ends peacefully when suspect surrenders
Clinton, MO
The suspect in a domestic violence incident fired a weapon at police during a standoff in Clinton, Missouri Saturday evening.
Nobody was injured. But a couple of police cars were hit.
Clinton Police describe the suspect as a Desert Storm veteran who suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He eventually surrendered peacefully and police took him into custody.
go to KMBC for updates
How much louder to they have to scream?
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 14, 2018
Last year veterans were facing off with law enforcement almost every week, maybe even more, but while these reports should have been national news, they were ignored.
Oh well, it is just so much easier to just use a number as if that is supposed to make any difference to the men and women screaming for help to stay alive.
When veterans commit suicide in a very public way, that is exactly what it is. Oh, not help for themselves. They have already made up their minds it is too late for them. They are screaming for someone to do something to help the other veterans! Like these;
(UPDATE: Added more from this year)
January 4, 2018
1 Clinton Michigan
Veteran committed suicide at East Olive Elementary School
February 2, 2018
2 Texas
Army veteran dead after SWAT Standoff
March 9, 2018
3 Yountville California
Veteran and hostages dead at PTSD program
March 12, 2018
4 Vietnam veteran committed suicide in Sheridan Police Department Parking lot after calling dispatch to let them know where he was.
March 13, 2018
5 Joint Base Lewis McChord Airman committed suicide after killing his family.
March 22, 2018
6 Waterbury
Suicide by cop, Marine veteran
Oklahoma
7 Suicide by Cop: Duane served in the Air Force for 16 years, completing three tours overseas.
March 23, 2018
8 Soldier dead after standoff at Aberdeen Proving Ground
March 23, 2018
Oklahoma
Air Force Veteran dead after police were called to help him.
March 26, 2018
9 St. Louis
62 year old veteran committed suicide in John Cochran VA Medical Center waiting room
April 3, 2018
10 Boynton Beach
Florida
11 76 year old Vietnam veteran committed suicide in Boynton City Hal parking lot. Not first time this happened.
It happened last year in Amarillo Texas when a veteran shot himself in front of the VA hospital.
May 17, 2018
12 Airman at Cannon Air Force Base found dead in Ned Houk Park
June 13, 2018
13 Fort Knox
21 year old Private committed public suicide at Clarksville High School after he stole a gun.
June 19, 2018
14 Kansas
Vietnam veteran committed suicide at in the VA emergency room.
June 23, 2018
15 Colorado Springs
Hours after being discharged from a mental health treatment facility, 38-year-old disabled veteran Lee Cole hiked into a wilderness area in southwest Colorado Springs with a backpack and the cellphone on which he planned to record his final message.
June 26 2018
16 Georgia
Navy Veteran set himself on fire in front of Georgia Capitol protesting the VA system.
Not first time this happened. It also happened in New Jersey last year.
June 27, 2018
17 Norfolk Navy Yard
Sailor walked into helicopter blade, death ruled suicide.
July 10, 2018
18 Alabama
Air Force veteran shot family, and himself after setting house on fire.
19 Chicago Police Officer and Marine veteran committed suicide in parking lot of police station.
July 14, 2018
20 Phoenix AZ
Veteran shot himself inside the VA Hospital Chapel
Not the first times since it happened last year when a 33 year old veteran shot himself at the VA.
Those are just from the reports I found in the last hour.
UPDATE
Sgt. Dave Matthews did a special feature on this.
Remember the Fallen
Listen to "Remember the Fallen" on Speaker.
And yes, I added my two cents too!
August 2018
21 Employee found dead inside Topeka VA Medical Center office
A Veterans Affairs employee died Tuesday morning inside an administrative office at Topeka’s Colmery O’Neil VA Medical Center. Joe Burks, spokesman for the VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System, said the employee died of an apparent suicide.
22 Suicide in Mishawaka VA parking lot puts spotlight on veteran mental health crisis
A veteran shot himself yesterday in the parking lot of the VA Health Care Center in Mishawaka -- dead from an apparent suicide.
UPDATE
November 2018
23 Gunshot in lobby of Nashville VA Medical Center
UPDATE
DECEMBER 2018
24 Bay Pines VA Hospital Parking Lot
On Dec. 10, retired Marine Col. Jim Turner put on his dress uniform and medals and drove to the Bay Pines Department of Veterans Affairs complex. He got out of his truck, sat down on top of his military records and took his own life with a rifle.
It is not "22 a day" veterans committing suicide. It is not even "20" because too many are not even counted.
They do not count when the veteran lives in other countries.
They do not count when the veteran has not been given an honorable discharge.
They do not count in far too many cases. The truth is, they needed to be able to count on us, but too many are too busy reducing them down to numbers, while families knew their names.
We do not even mention the fact that the average suicides within the military are about 500 a year.
We sure do not mention the fact that family members commit suicide too. So for all the awareness not being raised, add this to what else you are now aware of!
Senators: Where's the Military Family Suicide Data?
Military.com
By Amy Bushatz
13 Jul 2018
The new policy had been due no later than Dec. 19, 2014. But no official report or update on the results of the family member portion of policy has been released.
Two senators want to know the status of information on the suicide rate for military family members, data the Pentagon was ordered to start collecting in 2014.
Defense officials were ordered to standardize and collect that data as part of a larger measure on military suicide included in a 2014 law. And while the Pentagon has fulfilled the request for service member suicide data, it seems to have ignored the order to include military dependents, according to a letter sent by the senators to the Defense Department.
The letter, signed by Democratic Sens. Patty Murray of Washington and Tim Kaine of Virginia, was sent July 12 to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
read more here
The most important thing veterans and families need to know IS THEY CAN HEAL AND IT CAN GET BETTER!
