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State, federal candidates discuss veterans issues

Joplin Globe - 7/23/2018

July 23--CARTHAGE, Mo. -- Transition assistance and mental health were the focus of a candidate forum and town hall at Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2590 on Saturday.

The forum was moderated by Ted Donaldson, junior vice commander of the District 7 VFW, which includes Carthage. Candidates were asked about a range of veterans issues, including how to provide a better transition into the civilian world and the high suicide rate among veterans.

Candidates running for both state and federal legislative seats attended, including Rep. Bill White, state Senate District 32 candidate; Rob O'Brian, state Senate District 32 candidate; Carolyn McGowan, state Senate District 32 candidate; Conon Gillis, state Senate District 32 candidate; Courtland Sykes, U.S. Senate candidate; a representative for U.S. Rep. Billy Long; a representative for Jamie Schoolcraft, U.S. 7th Congressional District candidate; Bob Bromley, state House District 162 candidate; Robert Stokes, state House District 162 candidate; Lane Roberts, state House District 161 candidate; Rep. Charlie Davis, Jasper County clerk candidate.

Transition assistance

Transition back into the civilian world can be a large hurdle for military personnel, and all of the candidates agreed that transition should begin before a soldier is discharged.

Roberts said there is a fundamental problem with the way the government and institutions think about the problem and the processes they follow, which need to be changed.

"We have to start out by determining early on what somebody needs in terms of transition," Roberts said. "There needs to be better preparation for separating veterans."

On the civilian side, O'Brian said community groups and organizations should do more to work with veterans organizations and identify how both can work together to provide more support and resources to returning soldiers.

"It's going to come back to our local communities to figure out how we can best help veterans in that transition and provide assistance," O'Brian said. "At the local level, we need to make sure there are plenty of people on the ground who can talk to veterans and give them information on things such as benefits and health care."

While military personnel may acquire a broad set of skills and knowledge, those sometimes don't translate into professional certifications or degrees when they return to civilian life. Bromley, who served as an Army medic, said his experience was only good enough for two college credits when he returned.

"I think that the military should correlate their training with civilian occupations to the point that you can get out of that training and have 45 hours, or 60 hours, of course credit," Bromley said. "Universities and colleges need to be more acceptive (sic) of the skills that you learn while you're in the military."

Mental health

An estimated 22 veterans commit suicide every day, a problem states are still working to address. Missouri's veteran suicide rate of 39.3 per 100,000 veterans is significantly higher than the nationwide rate of 29.7 per 100,000.

White said there should be a three-way partnership between the state government, federal government and private entities to effectively combat the issue. On the state level, he said it's going to take more funding.

"We don't fund mental health well in this state," White said. "We need to invest in mental health across the board."

Aside from funding, Stokes said addressing the problem is going to require early identification and intervention. More creativity in solutions, he said, could go a long way.

"For those who are high-risk, there is technology out there that can check on them on a regular basis, and if there are warning signs that are going off, that technology could notify someone who can then intervene," he said. "We have to make sure that we are giving people the various opportunities for treatment that we can and that we are involving the local communities."

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(c)2018 The Joplin Globe (Joplin, Mo.)

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