Your Cincinnati Car Donation Can Help Veterans Return to Civilian Life
A look at the challenges America’s veterans face upon coming home
Today alone, approximately 550 men and women of the armed forces will return home to their families and civilian lives. And, while that number may sound quite high, over the next half-decade it will remain the norm.
For the next five years, as America begins to withdraw its forces after almost a decade of war, nearly 250,000 veterans will be returning home to every year.
Why returning to everyday life can be a struggle
Although leaving the rigors of military life and the horrors of war behind are paramount, returning to civilian life isn’t as easy for veterans as simply picking up where they left off. Some have been gone for years, and when they come home, it’s difficult to transition back into society. Why?
- Wounded soldiers may have difficulty getting a job or affording their medication
- Veterans may have difficulty finding employment
- Skills required for everyday life or common jobs may be challenging
- Returning soldiers may suffer from PTSD or other mental disorders that make it difficult for them to interact with others socially and professionally
- Life as a soldier differs greatly from that of civilian life, and many soldiers come back a different person (this can be re-worded, but wanted to add something similar)
What’s being done?
The government is attempting to improve the situation by requiring all discharged military personnel to attend "Transition GPS," a program designed to teach veterans how to prepare a résumé, apply for jobs and prepare them for life at home.
Employers are also attempting to help by taking part in the veteran employment project. This program is geared toward hiring former servicemen and women, with an overall goal of hiring 100,000 veterans by the year 2020. The coalition is currently made up of more than 170 companies, and is even aiming to double its initial goal by the end of the year.
The difficulties faced by wounded soldiers
Despite these programs and efforts to help decrease veteran unemployment and homelessness, the problem is still very much an issue for soldiers suffering from injuries or medical disorders. For instance, employers can be reluctant to hire veterans who suffer from PTSD for fear of the inability to deal with the stress and demands of everyday work. This causes many soldiers to avoid PTSD examinations, which means their conditions may go untreated.
These issues affect often youngest veterans the most, as they are more likely to suffer from PTSD. As a result, one fifth of former military in the 18 to 24 age range are unemployed.
Make a Cincinnati car donation if you’d like to help
At Volunteers of America of Greater Ohio, we specialize in transitional housing, treatment programs, and employment services to help returning veterans transition into a healthy, productive life. However, we need your donations to fund and expand these programs.
If you have an extra or unused vehicle in your garage or lawn that you’d like to be free of, please donate it to Volunteers of America in Cincinnati. We’ll take almost anything with a motor, including cars, trucks, RVs, and even tractors. Even if it’s not running, we can arrange free same-day towing to pick it up, and you might make more off of your vehicle as a tax-deductible donation than you would selling it privately.
If you’d like to help returning veterans throughout Cincinnati we serve, donate to Volunteers of America today.