Published: 07-03-08
Central Texas lawmaker pushes for help for returning veterans
Stephenville Texas—State Representative Sid Miller has returned home after making his second trip to Washington D.C. in less than a week. While in the nation’s capitol the Central Texas lawmaker joined officials from the state’s mental health and mental retardation community centers as well as representatives of the nation’s leading veteran’s organizations in calling upon members of the Texas Congressional Delegation to expand access to mental health services for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Representative Miller joined more than twenty Texas representatives of the Texas Council of Community MHMR Centers and more than 300 participants from across the nation for the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare’s annual “Hill Day” activities in Washington D.C.
Miller and his fellow Texans met with federal lawmakers and their staffs urging support for the Veterans Mental Health Outreach and Access Act which is currently being considered by the Congress. The legislation would authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement a comprehensive national program to increase the availability of mental health support so that veterans affected by combat-related mental health problems do not go without they care they need.
In rural areas where the Veterans Administration determines there is inadequate access to a VA Medical Center the act directs the Secretary of the VA to contract with community mental health centers to provide treatment and support services and readjustment counseling.
Danette Castle the Executive Director of the Texas Council of Community MHMR Centers said she appreciated Miller’s strong and effective advocacy on behalf of veterans and the state’s 39 community MHMR centers. “Representative Miller was an articulate and impassioned advocate in his meetings with congressional leaders” said Castle.
Representative Miller whose legislative district includes Fort Hood the largest military installation in the free world said that nearly 1 in 5 or more than 30000 soldiers who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He said it is vital that we provide our returning heroes with the assistance and treatment they need so they can be reintegrated into civilian life.
“Oftentimes there is simply not a nearby VA facility equipped to provide these highly specialized services to our returning veterans and their families” said Representative Miller. “Fortunately here in Texas we have a wonderful community based MHMR system that has the expertise to provide these services close to home” he added.
Miller who was accompanied on several of his congressional visits by Colonel Pete Duffy of the National Guard Association of the United States said the act places special emphasis on providing services for National Guardsmen and Reserve veterans who have served in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Miller said that civilian soldiers often return from combat duty and immediately resume civilian life and may not have adequate access to readjustment services or VA facilities. The legislation includes provisions to extend counseling services to veteran’s families who may also experience issues with readjustment after their loved-ones returned home from deployment.
Coke Beatty the Executive Director of the Pecan Valley MHMR Center which provides behavioral health care services in Erath Johnson Hood Palo Pinto Parker and Somervell Counties participated in the “Hill Day” activities and joined Miller on several congressional visits. Beatty praised Representative Miller for his commitment to veterans and their families as well as for his strong support for the community based MHMR system in Texas. When meeting with congressional leaders Beatty likened the current situation with efforts to quell the violence in Iraq.
“Just as there was a troop surge in Iraq there will also be a surge of troops returning home that need PTSD treatment and services for their families. The VA has a choice. They can build a larger buearacacry by hiring lots of staff to handle this surge of troops coming back home or they can contract out with providers already standing by ready to help” Beatty said.
Representative Miller agreed saying that the best use of tax dollars would be for the VA to contract with MHMR centers like Pecan Valley to service the surge of troops returning home to Texas. Miller said that these community based locally controlled community MHMR centers have a proven track record of being able to manage emergency situations such as the providing services for Hurricane Katrina victims etc. and that they were will equipped to provide services to our veterans.
“We will forever owe a debt to those who serve our nation and defend our freedoms” Representative Miller said. “That debt includes making sure that they and their families have access to the mental health services they need” he added.
