About Sheri de Grom
Retired Fed/JAG, 5 yrs. on Capitol Hill. Former book buyer for B and N. Concerned citizen of military drawdown. Currently involved in mental healthcare reform, health care strategist and actively pursuing legislative change wherein dual retirees are exempt from enrolling in Medicare at their own discretion without losing tertiary healthcare benefits. Monitor and comment on Federal Register proposed legislation involving Mental Health, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, Medicare and rural libraries. Licensed OSHA Inspector to include Super Fund sites. Full time caregive to Vietnam era veteran. Conceptualized, investigated possible alternatives, authored, lobbied for, and successfully implemented Title X, Section 1095 (known as the Third Party Collection Program of Federal Insurance).
The budding trees, the new flowers,
and birds that sweetly sing,
whisper to me that it’s Easter.
Here is wishing a warmth for your soul
on Easter and always! Happy Easter
Maxima, Thank you for the lovely greeting. You know I always love your poetry. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Tess, Yes, why indeed?
Oh, Sheri. Those numbers are mind-blowing. We as a country are guilty of more atrocities than our enemies.
Lynn, I couldn’t agree with you more.
Sorry for being so late this week, Sheri. Yes the numbers are staggering and sad, a true American tragedy. Are there things we could do to help keep those numbers down? Yes. And I pray that because of activists like you, more is done to help those who are at risk. Thanks as always for shining the light 🙂
Florence – You never have to apologize for being late. I finally arrived at your house today. I believe the Department of Defense is barking up the wrong tree when they throw money at mental health after the fact. I know that no one can predict when someone is going to take their own life. I’ve had many years of experience of being on suicide watch and it takes a certain toll on the human body. Early on, Tom and I made a contract that if he felt he was going to harm himself, he would tell me before he did anything. That way, I could either have him spend one-on-one time with me until the feeling passed or I would make the decision he had to go to the hospital where they would be responsible for keeping him safe. I’m going to be blogging on the subject of suicide and why it is so seductive and seems the only way out in the near future. I hadn’t planned to start this summer with that series but after what happened at Fort Hood, this is probably as good a time as any. Thank you for hanging in there with me. Sheri
Tess – Yes, why indeed?
Reblogged this on martha0stout and commented:
Be aware, these veterans aren’t just dying on the field of battle far away. The battlefield is more than just a physical place, it’s in our minds as well. Lets not send these soldiers to fight alone when they don’t need to.
Martha, thank you so much for reblogging this post. The numbers are indeed staggering. Our veterans deserve so much more than what they are getting or have ever gotten.
Military service runs high in my family. These people have given up a lot in order for us to feel safe and actually be safe. They deserve more. Thank you for posting this, I hadn’t realized it was this high, though I did know that there was a problem.
Martha – Mental health is a subject dear to my heart but I also track all veterans as I worked for the Department of Defense 19 years out of my 20 as a civilian and my husband is a disabled veteran. When we look at the numbers and actually realize, 80,000 have been killed on the battle field and a 100,000 to date, this tells us we have more than serious problem. I’m also tracking the military drawdown and I blog about all of these subjects and none of them are pretty. Sometimes I just have to take a break and post a couple silly post in order to continue. Thanks for caring and sharing. Sheri
There are times when the silly is all we have standing between us and insanity/too much grief.
Thank you for all the work that you do.
my very good friend works as a social worker at the va hospital in downtown detroit. he is empathetic, kind and understanding. i wish there were many more like him to help all who need it.
Hi Beth – Yes, we need thousands more like your friend. I pray he doesn’t burn out. It happens to so many of the professionals that truly care. They overextend over and over and after a time, there’s absolutely nothing left to give.
Reblogged this on Elaine's Random Thoughts and commented:
Our veterans deserve so much more than they are given. They sacrifice so much for all of us.
Elaine – Thank you for the reblog. You are so right, our veterans deserve so much more. It’s a wonder anyone ever considers enlisting in the military. What few benefits our military now have are being torn about by the congressional budget committee.
our mental health system is a travesty~
Cindy – Indeed it is!
The despicable thing about all of it is that mental health issues for veterans has been so well documented, for so long now. It is tantamount to criminal negligence that services are not expanded to address this issue, knowing it is a growing problem. A great Marine General, twice decorated with the Medal of Honor, said in his book, “War is a Racket”, the following:
“I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country’s most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.”
Michael – The sad part is that I believe every word he wrote. I no longer believe there’s a magical identifying factor to stop the suicide epidemic. We sent these men and women into battle over and over for extended tours of combat and with precious little time state-side. The soldiers certainly didn’t have enough time to reconnect with their families and their children. Finding a normal day is something that doesn’t just happen. We’ve always known that war is about capitalism and our politicians have played it that way from the beginning of time. I bet the Obama daughters don’t enlist when they become of age!
Reblogged this on Traces of the Soul.
Thank you for the reblog. Hopefully the more people that know the result of our almost 13 years of war will help finish the war and we’ll pull out once and for all. We’ve damaged the minds of our men and women in uniform to the point I’m not sure there’s an identifiable answer of how we are going to help them, but we do have to keep trying.
Totally…my heart breaks when I hear of another soldier who takes his life never getting the proper help he or she deserves. It is a travesty! I was watching on the news last week a family interviewed in Western Canada, parents of 3 young children…parents are shocked that the father has to return for a THIRD tour. Our leaders have not been exposed to the horror our soldiers have…shame on them!
Indeed, shame on them. You won’t find the children of any U.S. President, Vice President and very few members of congress having children that enlist. I do a lot of reading on the subject and it appears about half stay for the fight due to their patriotic beliefs and the other half do because the economy is so bad and they cannot find other employment. The military is famous for loading soldiers up on pain pills (narcotics) before they deploy for the battle field in order for them to get through one more deployment. There’s something fundamentally wrong about that.
It IS shameful and what have they not learned from past wars…the casualties are our soldiers when they return:(
Just as Let’s Cut the Crap said, this is unacceptable. These men and women help keep our country safe yet we abandon them when they return. Good God!
Patti – Our military has taken the brunt of the country’s axe since Vietnam. If war weren’t so profitable for the warmongers, perhaps we wouldn’t throw away the lives of so many innocent victims (our military men and women).
The numbers are staggering. Unacceptable! Why are veterans not cherished?