Inflation, healthcare, and the stigma of getting help for mental health. These are all issues our local veterans are faced with daily, and on Veterans Day, we wanted to bring these important topics to light.
“What they have is not meeting their basic needs,” Anita Herman, an Air Force veteran said.
Inflation is hitting our veterans who are on a fixed income hard this year.
Most retirees saw a 5.6% increase in pay for their cost of living adjustment, the biggest jump since 1982.
Still, Anita Herman, American Legion Post 67 member and Air Force veteran, says they get requests for financial assistance all the time.
“Veterans needing help with utilities, their bills, rent,” Herman said.
That's not the only hot topic among Veterans. Access to quality healthcare is of big concern too.
“Being able to get an appointment, that’s a big issue, getting an appointment I guess because of the large number of military in the area it’s difficult to get an appointment” LaShundra Small, Air Force veteran said.
Air Force veteran Lashundra Small is talking about the Hampton VA. We checked their website and the average wait time is 49 days. She says she's known veterans who have waited longer.
“It was kind of disheartening because that was the only care that they had,” LaShundra Small tells News 3.
In that same vein, mental health help. Both small and Herman agree it's time to end the stigma.
“We all deal with that whether we know it or not, day-to-day anxieties,” Herman said.
“Some people just don’t want to admit that they need to talk to someone when they really do,” Small tells us.
For all that our veterans have done and continue to do, we thank you.
