California Veterans
What are the statistics on the general outlook on life after military service in California? For instance, do Ex-serviceman have access to health, education, home and job benefits?
Do veterans in California go unnoticed?
SD's VA hospital is a 3 out of 5 in secret rating
A secret federal rating system made public this week rates the San Diego VA medical network three out of five. The scoring system shows the local network falls short of the VA average on wait times, overall mental-health coverage and other areas. Ref. Source 1c.
Helping homeless veterans, one RV trip at a time
In what is believed to be a one-of-a-kind VA outreach effort, a RV from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs regularly drives from Orange County to San Diego to help homeless vets. “My angle is to just break the ice," said one worker. Ref. Source 5j.
Veterans and the painkiller problem
San Diego County is home to the country’s biggest cluster of post-9/11 veterans. In the U.S., about one in five of these vets has been prescribed an opioid. Veterans warn that easy prescription of habit-forming painkillers can be a slippery slope. Ref. Source 6t.
Yes I think that doctors easily prescribe too many pain killers to Veterans as a way to deal with some of the pains they feel. I think that it is very easy to get hooked on these drugs and abuse them. I do hope that if this is happening with our veterans that help is there for them.
Poway resident, Pearl Harbor vet turns 105
Ray Chavez celebrated his 105th birthday, a milestone that experts believe make him the longest-living Pearl Harbor veteran in the country. “I’m the old one now,” he said. “I don’t feel old, but everybody says, ‘My goodness, how do you live so long?’” Ref. Source 5l.