ANGIE MILES: Are we doing enough for our veterans?

Many are struggling with post-traumatic stress, warding off thoughts of suicide, or battling the government over benefits.

There are veterans locked behind prison walls and others striving to educate the public about their contributions.

As America prepares to observe Veterans Day, those who have served share their challenges and hopes.

You're watching VPM News Focal Point.

Production funding for VPM News Focal Point is provided by The estate of Mrs. Ann Lee Saunders Brown.

And by... ♪ ♪ ANGIE MILES: Welcome to VPM News Focal Point.

I'm Angie Miles.

There are more than 16 million veterans in the United States, that's according to the most recent census data.

Nearly 700,000 of them live here in Virginia.

Many Americans hold those who've served in high regard.

At the same time, many veterans struggle with issues related to their time in the armed services or with the difficulties of adjusting to life once they've returned home.

Note that several topics in this program, including the discussion of suicide, may be difficult for some.

We begin with a veteran's battle for benefits.

The GI Bill provides funds for veterans to help pay for college, graduate school, and job training.

As multimedia journalist Billy Shields reports, a Virginia Army veteran has a case before the U.S. Supreme Court this week against the Department of Veterans Affairs over his education benefits.

(footsteps crunching) BILLY SHIELDS: Since the GI Bill was implemented in 1944, it has been lauded as a program that has changed the lives of millions of veterans.

TIM McHUGH: The GI Bill is truly a transformative, life-changing benefit for veterans who've served in any era, but particularly so in the post-9/11 era.

BILLY SHIELDS: Through his lawyers, Virginia Army veteran, Jim Rudisill is arguing that Veterans Affairs wrongly calculated his GI benefits, costing him an Ivy League education.

TIM McHUGH: And it's frustrating in that the VA has imposed this very punitive and unprecedented regime that actually ends up shortchanging the longest serving veterans.

BILLY SHIELDS: What complicates the issue are changing waves of benefits that Congress authorized over the years.

In Rudisill's case, the VA ruled he couldn't access robust post-9/11 benefits without exhausting smaller benefits from a previous period called the Montgomery Era.

DAVID DePIPPO: If you have any Montgomery Benefits, regardless of how long you've served, you have to either forfeit them or exhaust them first and then move to post-9/11.

And again, we think there's no basis in the statute for that whatsoever.

BILLY SHIELDS: Rudisill served almost eight years over three stints starting in 2000, and was accepted into Yale's Divinity School with an eye toward becoming an Army chaplain.

He argues the VA denied him tens of thousands of dollars in education benefits.

he could not afford to attend Yale.

DAVID DePIPPO: We think this is actually an accident.

Someone in 2008 created a form.

The form is the way that you tell the VA you want benefits that you've earned.

BILLY SHIELDS: That form, they argue, is being used incorrectly.

ANGIE MILES: For now, Rudisill and his attorneys await the Supreme Court ruling.

That decision could impact nearly 2 million veterans.

ANGIE MILES: One of the biggest concerns regarding veterans in recent years is the high rate of suicide.

We went to people of Virginia, including some who are veterans, to ask why they believe this has become such a challenge.

RICK SNEAD: I think a lot of the situation is that they're not heard enough.

You know, they're talking, but not everybody's listening that can listen.

TIFFANY REPOSA: My guess would be maybe there's not enough personal support as far as maybe the military understanding that we all have personal lives and families too, that we have to take care of on top of, you know, serving our country every day.

STACY FERGUSON-SNEDEKER: I'm not a hundred percent what the suicide rate is at the moment, but I have known people through my unit that committed suicide, and it's sad.

And the root, everybody has different reasons, but I think one of the main ones is when you go away for that period of time and you come back, it's like it's a puzzle and you don't fit anymore.

ANGIE MILES: For many decades, those returning home from military duty have begun a new battle with depression.

According to one report, of the 38,000 adults who committed suicide in 2020, 6,000 of them were veterans.

Special correspondent, A.J.

Nwoko, gives us a closer look at the veteran suicide crisis at both the national and state level, and shows us what is being done to provide resources to retired soldiers suffering in silence.

A.J.

NWOKO: Though veteran suicide across the country and here in Virginia may never be totally eradicated, experts say it can be prevented, and a lot of times that prevention starts with human connections and conversations.

(people chatter) A.J.

NWOKO: It's a community no one asked to be a part of, encompassing a crisis not talked about enough.

But at this Out of the Darkness walk, those who push forward are reminded that suicide impacts people in all walks of life.

MICHAEL TUCKER: We may not be able to always get to those people, but we can walk until we can get there.

A.J.

NWOKO: And the colored beads they wear around their necks represent that heartache comes in different hues.

Red beads for the loss of a spouse.

Teal representing someone who's attempted.

And silver... MICHAEL TUCKER: The silver represents military, or first responders.

A.J.

NWOKO: Michael Tucker wears for Army National Guard Staff Sergeant William Rhame.

MICHAEL TUCKER: He was my uncle.

Saying the word ‘was is already hard enough.

But he was family, I mean, for many months, he was like a big brother to me.

I grew up with him.

It was something that he truly enjoyed and he was proud to do, and he did it for 18 years.

A.J.

NWOKO: And like so many others, Tucker never suspected his uncle was silently suffering.

MICHAEL TUCKER: He was always just ridiculously goofy for no reason.

A.J.

NWOKO: Until April 25th, 2020, while Rhame was still serving.

MICHAEL TUCKER: His friend said later that night, they all ended up getting in their tents and they heard the gunshot go off.

So I don't, A.J.

NWOKO: And unfortunately.

MICHAEL TUCKER: I don't think any of us expected it.

A.J.

NWOKO: Tucker's story isn't unique.

CARL TROST: I would say too many times.

A.J.

NWOKO: Retired Navy chaplain, Carl Trost knows that better than most.

CARL TROST: My responsibility was to make sure that you had everything that you needed to be able to practice your faith.

A.J.

NWOKO: For 25 years, it was Trost's job to ensure his sailors mental and emotional needs were met, sometimes with success, but far too often... CARL TROST: I found that I was doing memorial services for for Marines, and I'd do about five or six a year, sometimes more.

A.J.

NWOKO: And though on the decline Trost says, the circumstances that drive veterans to suicide often start during the transition from soldier to civilian.

CARL TROST: Any kind of change, transition, it's very stressful.

And depending upon what kind of resiliency skills you have, you can manage the stress or the stress may manage you.

A.J.

NWOKO: According to the 2022 National Veteran Suicide Prevention annual report from the US Department of Veteran Affairs, in 2020, there were over 6,000 veteran suicides, an average of nearly 17 veterans a day.

Taking a closer look at the Commonwealth, the report shows that Virginian veterans accounted for 181 deaths in 2020.

Nationally, firearms accounted for over 70% of all suicide among veterans.

But in Virginia, firearms were used in over 80% of veteran suicides.

While the statewide report touts that the Virginia suicide rate among veterans is significantly below the national average, Brandi Jancaitis with the state Department of Veterans Services says the report still doesn't reflect the true scope of the crisis.

BRANDI JANCAITIS: That picture gets a lot bigger when you talk about those that may have had suicidal ideation or attempts and that never got logged by a provider.

A.J.

NWOKO: To that end, Jancaitis says, the Virginia Veteran Family Support Program which operates through the DVS, receives about $6.7 million annually to provide services like mental health, substance abuse, treatment for suicidal ideation, and more.

BRANDI JANCAITIS: Because if someone's connected feels like they have purpose and camaraderie, they're less likely to experience mental health symptoms or suicidal ideations.

A.J.

NWOKO: A message Tucker vows to continue communicating to other veterans in an effort to save lives.

MICHAEL TUCKER: Theyre our shields, theyre our heroes.

They're people that we look at to do a job, but they need to be remembered that they're still people and they still struggle just the same.

A.J.

NWOKO: Reporting for VPM News Focal Point, I'm A.J.

Nwoko.

ANGIE MILES: The state Department of Veterans Services says the easiest way to take advantage of suicide prevention resources for veterans is to call the Suicide Crisis Hotline at 9-8-8, and press 1 for Veterans Services.

ANGIE MILES: VPM News Focal Point is interested in the points of view of Virginians.

To hear more from your Virginia neighbors, and to share your own thoughts and story ideas, find us online at vpm.org/focalpoint.

ANGIE MILES: Virginia's Department of Veterans Services recently launched a program to address opioid addiction and suicide among service members, veterans, and their families.

It's called SOS.

An estimated 10 to 20% of veterans suffer with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The mental and emotional toll of the training, of family separation, as well as the risk and reality of injury, can prompt long-term anguish for some.

For close to 200,000 veterans, their struggles eventually lead to jail or prison.

Veterans make up about 6% of the overall population, but up to 8% of the prison population.

I've been speaking with incarcerated individuals who've gone from protecting our freedom to losing their own.

ANGIE MILES: In November 2000, Samuel Harris went to state prison, sentenced to 60 years.

Some of that time he had already served while awaiting trial.

ANGIE MILES: It was for a crime committed the year before in November 1999, in Suffolk.

ANGIE MILES: Harris says he directed the man to get on the floor and the woman to hand over her car keys.

Those instructions would later mean abduction and carjacking charges.

Although, he says he told the couple he didn't intend to hurt anyone.

TRACY EURE: You remember, he's 15 here?

ANN DAVIS: Yeah, yeah.

ANGIE MILES: Samuel Harris' family wants the world to meet a very different man than the one who went on a breaking and entering spree in 1999.

A man they adore to this day.

ANN DAVIS: Samuel Harris is my cousin.

Him and I, we're two months apart.

From kindergarten to the fifth grade we were in the same class.

Him and I have been inseparable all our lives.

PAMELA COPELAND: Samuel Harris is my baby brother.

He's always been mischievous, but always very curious.

VIRGINIA LEIGH MIZELL WHITE: And but, he was just as sweet as he could be.

PAMELA COPELAND: When he joined the Army, oh, my God, he loved it.

And I can remember him coming to my house and, you know, he was just excited.

ANN DAVIS: Of course, adulthood changes things somewhat, you know, as we get older, but our hearts never separated.

ANGIE MILES: Harris says that given his love for sports, he considered a career as an agent, but ultimately, he followed the lead of his stepfather.

ANGIE MILES: And a cousin had served, as well.

PAMELA COPELAND: Alfonso, Sam looked up to him.

He respected him.

And listening to stories of their experiences, drew him to serve in the military.

And he's always admired our stepdad.

His name for him was Big Dave, my Dave.

So, he decides to follow in the footsteps of his stepdad and his cousin.

ANGIE MILES: It was 1987 when Harris began his military career with plans to serve for two decades and then retire comfortably.

But just a few years later, he was back in Suffolk and behaving like a different person.

PAMELA COPELAND: There was an incident where I had just bought a brand, new car and I let him drive it, and he totaled it.

He wrapped it around a telephone pole.

We had to rush to Norfolk General and it was terrible.

He would always say, "I hate alcohol."

And to find out that, you know, alcohol had played a part in it, that was, you know, it was scary.

We began to see the downward spiral in his life, you know, and it went from the alcohol to drugs and doing anything and everything.

He, you know, to support his habit.

So yeah, he was not the same.

ANGIE MILES: Sister Tracy, remembers him knocking on her door in the middle of the night, in the dead of winter.

TRACY EURE: And I had told him, I said, 'You can't stay here.'

I said, 'Because I don't want to wake up and all my stuff is gone.'

You know, so that was the hardest thing to do, to turn him down.

And when he left, I got on the phone and I called my dad and I was crying.

I was like, 'Dad, I was like, please find him.

Please get him somewhere to stay.

It is so cold.'

I said, 'But, I can't let him stay here.'

ANN DAVIS: About maybe a month or so, before the incident happened that led him to prison, he came over to my house.

I hardly recognized him, you know, the person that was standing at the door.

I remember asking him, 'Have you eaten?

And do you need to go somewhere or anything?'

And he said, "No," he said, "I'm fine."

And I knew he wanted to, you know, I didn't know what to say to him and, you know, to reach him.

And, he didn't know what to say to me.

But he was screaming for help.

He was, he wanted help.

ANGIE MILES: What led Harris to drugs in prison, what leads many veterans along this same path is the focal point of the Operation Phoenix Veterans Group at Lawrenceville Correctional Center.

ANGIE MILES: Harris says, for him, the trouble started in August 1988, when he nearly drowned at the bottom of a swimming pool during an Army training exercise.

PAMELA COPELAND: That was very scary.

He was unresponsive and they had told me to prepare my parents to fly to Alaska to be with him But, thank God, you know, he pulled through and after a few weeks in the hospital, they flew him home.

ANGIE MILES: For his first few years back in Suffolk, Harris became one of the most successful car salesmen in the area.

But increasingly, he turned to drugs for his unaddressed, mental health issues.

He says it was 2014 when VA representatives came to him in prison.

And 2015, when he was finally diagnosed with PTSD, stemming from that training accident in 1988.

ANGIE MILES: Harris says, better support is needed as service members are making the initial transition to civilian life.

He adds that, behind the prison walls, there are veterans who are suffering, coping with how their military service changed them and hoping that the country that they chose to serve won't forget them, will consider the full extent of what they have sacrificed.

ANGIE MILES: A 2022 study found that close to one in three American veterans has been arrested and booked into jail.

That is nearly twice the civilian rate.

Meantime, Samuel Harris recently won a conditional pardon from Governor Glenn Youngkin.

His 60 year sentence has been cut in half.

He's scheduled to go home in 2025, once he completes a reentry program.

He plans to start a nonprofit to help veterans.

ANGIE MILES: To learn about government programs and support for veterans who are reentering society after active duty or after a period of incarceration, We welcome Donna Harrison, Housing and Criminal Justice Director at the Virginia Department of Veterans Services.

She coordinates services for veterans involved in the criminal justice system and those experiencing homelessness as well.

Thank you for being with us.

DONNA HARRISON: Thank you for having me.

ANGIE MILES: Virginia Veteran and Family Support is your program.

How long have you been around and about how many veterans do you serve?

Our agency serves close to 500,000 veterans a year, Our program is specific for veterans that are vulnerable, usually veterans that are experiencing behavioral health crisis, that are homeless, that need a connection to services, we really help fill the gap.

I know it was 2008 when Buffalo, New York judge, Robert Russell, realized that a lot of veterans coming before his bench had addiction issues, had mental and emotional health issues, and he started the first Veterans Treatment Court, but now they're popping up everywhere.

Does Virginia have Veterans Treatment Courts?

DONNA HARRISON: Yes.

DONNA HARRISON: Yes.

So Virginia does have Veteran Treatment Court Dockets, we call them here in Virginia.

We have about eight in Virginia now.

They started in 2015.

And so they're structured like Drug Courts, Behavioral Health Dockets, but they're a little bit different in that they try to highlight military service, veteran culture and they're embedded within those dockets and so the VA sits at the table.

Our Virginia Veteran and Family Support Veteran Justice Specialists sit at that table.

And so that whole treatment team pulls together to connect individuals to treatment and to services in the community.

ANGIE MILES: And these courts aren't meant to say, ‘well, if you're a veteran, you're better than other people, but that you're different.

You have a special set of circumstances that need to be considered.

For example, if there is post-traumatic stress from time in the service, correct?

DONNA HARRISON: Correct.

DONNA HARRISON: Correct.

So I think a lot of times what the veteran treatment courts are trying to do is connect those veterans directly to treatment related to whatever their needs are.

So whether that's post-traumatic stress or depression or even traumatic brain injuries, we see that often with this population.

And also making sure they have veteran peer mentors to help guide them along the way and connecting them to federal, state, and local resources.

And with our program at Virginia Veteran and Family Support if someone's not eligible for the VA and are not able to receive treatment, we have a way to connect them directly to treatment providers in the community and even fund treatment in some of those cases as well.

Thank you so much for joining us.

We've been speaking with Donna Harrison with the Virginia Department of Veterans Services.

(upbeat music) ANGIE MILES: You can watch the full interview on our website.

ANGIE MILES: There are nearly 1.5 million Latino veterans in the U.S. today.

Virginia is home to the only national nonprofit focused on helping all Latino veterans thrive after service.

Multimedia journalist, Keyris Manzanares, highlights the story of the American Latino Veterans Association.

DANNY VARGAS: We all know that freedom is not free.

It is protected and defended by people who are willing to wear the cloth of the country and sacrifice their lives if need be to be able to defend freedom.

I grew up in New York City, in Brooklyn.

I joined the Air Force at 17, right out of high school.

My mother had to authorize me to serve underage.

I joined the Air Force, because it was a fascinating mission that I was able to choose.

I started ALVA, the American Latino Veterans Association, as a way to be able to give back to that community, but also to be able to make sure that we can tell the stories of Latino contributions to the military from the Revolutionary War to today, and to better serve that population of the 1.5 million Latino veterans who often need support and help in many ways.

If we go to World War II, there were half million Latino troops that fought in every period of World War II, making a huge difference and a massive impact.

In the Korean conflict, the U.S. Army's 65th Infantry Regiment, the Borinqueneers of Puerto Rico, was one of the most highly decorated combat units in the Korean conflict.

And if you go to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., you'll see thousands and thousands of Hispanic surnames etched on that wall, and there have been over 60 Hispanic Medal of Honor recipients, and not to mention the young Latinas and Latinos who have served and sacrificed on our behalf on the battlefields of Afghanistan or Iraq, so Latinos take a backseat to no one in the defense of freedom.

Together, we are working very hard to make sure that we find ways to empower our veteran community.

We created ALVA as a way to be able to focus on some key areas.

Number one, workforce development and job placement.

Number two, entrepreneurship.

Because in many cases, starting your own business is the fastest way to self-sufficiency.

Number three, telling those stories that we talked about, about Latino contributions to the military throughout history.

Four, around making sure that we have a voice around advocacy and policy issues.

And lastly, as a repository for information on resources and benefits so that they can begin to access those benefits that they've earned through their service and sacrifice.

JUSTIN V ÉLEZ-HAGAN: What we've done is just be a convener of information to help military personnel transition from the military life to career, and then to progress in their careers beyond that.

As well as ALVA serves as a function to help to support the idea of the importance of the Latino veteran throughout Washington D.C. as well.

They've made immense contributions from the beginning of this country, and that's something that should be understood better as well as supported, and hopefully and continue to support in the future.

DANNY VARGAS: I'm able to use my microphone to be able to share that information with everyone, to better their chances to be able to, you know, succeed and thrive in the future.

So this, it's really important for us to be able to communicate directly with our audience in a lot of different ways.

My message to everyone is, when you see a veteran that might need help, you know, thank a veteran, hug a veteran, hire a veteran.

Because at the end of the day, we would not be a free nation today were it not for their service and sacrifice.

ANGIE MILES: We hope this program has enhanced your appreciation for what many veterans encounter once they're home from the service.

We invite you to consider the resources we've provided here, and to explore more stories on our website, that's VPM.org/focalpoint.

Thank you for joining us, and we'll see you next time.

Production funding for VPM News Focal Point is provided by The estate of Mrs. Ann Lee Saunders Brown.

And by... ♪ ♪