The-- The VA is an organization that has a mission to protect
and to serve the needs of our veterans,
those who go and are willing to sacrifice all for our country.
And unfortunately what we're seeing is that even after
all of these years --both in the post 9/11 era of veterans
but also with Vietnam veterans, Korean War veterans,
those who've come before us-- the-- the services are still
falling short.
And this area of post- traumatic stress I think
is one of the main areas where that's true.
There continues to be a stigma around this,
whether people are willing to admit it or not,
both within the military and also with people transition back to
their civilian lives.
I've experienced it through some of my friends who I've served with,
who've come home really, really struggling and
having a hard time finding the best place that can really help them.
This is one of the drivers behind the continued rate
of veterans' suicide that we're seeing in our country and
shows that we have to take a more holistic approach,
and this is what I would lead as president,
where as a veteran I understand in a deeply personal way
who pays the price for war and how heavy that price is,
and will ensure that our VA leaves no veteran behind,
that every single veteran gets the care that they need.
And as we look at post- traumatic stress,
there are many different levels of how it impacts people
on a whole spectrum.
Some very, very extreme situations; some may be less extreme.
But every person heals and finds their therapy and their path forward
in a different way.
And as a VA, as a government, as a society,
we need to be able to help support that-- that journey.
I-- I had a woman who'd work for me in my congressional office.
She's a military spouse. Her husband had many deployments
and had been exposed to some of the most extreme environments
and situations that really had a-- deeply, deeply impacted him.
He got to the point where he couldn't fly, he couldn't travel.
And they didn't know what to do to be able to help him.
He didn't want to just take drugs to try to numb the pain.
And for him, their breakthrough happened when they had a plant
that was dying on their front step.
And he was home, and he just started watering the plant.
Taking care of the plant, trimming the plant.
And starting to bring this plant back to life.
And he experiences, as well as his wife saw, that that was
awakening something in him that had been lost for a long time.
Long story short, now they have a farm with many acres.
He has found his path towards peace by working the land
and is inviting other veterans there to come and join him,
and finding that connection with the earth, and growing food and plants
as a way forward for them.
Meditation is something others are finding.
Working with animals, horses, dogs.
Others-- others through surfing, actually. I've-- I've been surfing with
severely wounded warriors, disabled veterans, and others
who are finding their empowerment once again
in the ocean, and it's an incredible thing.
We've gotta support this holistic approach to actually
treating the root cause rather than just seeing
mental health treatment and treatment for post-traumatic stress
as something that can only be responded to with more drugs.