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A new bill would cover the cost of service dogs for veterans with PTSD
Editor's Note: This article by Dorothy Mills-Gregg originally appeared on Military.com, a leading source of news for the military and veteran community.
Lawmakers and veterans advocacy groups are ready for change after waiting nearly a decade for the Department of Veterans Affairs to change its policy on not reimbursing service dogs for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers, or PAWS, Act would require the VA to offer $25,000 vouchers to veterans suffering with PTSD for use at qualifying nonprofits. Currently, the VA only supports service dogs for use in mobility issues, not in cases that only involve mental health conditions.
Welcome to 'The Barracks,' the new Georgia jail unit just for military veterans
It's chow time in "The Barracks," the Gwinnett County jail's brand new housing unit just for military veterans, and Jack Cleveland has just finished his potato chips.
He crumples up the bag and, arms flush with colorful tattoos, welcomes a reporter to the table he's sharing with two other incarcerated veterans.
Cleveland, 37, admits that he's done plenty of wrong in his life. His current stay at the jail is the result of the latest in a lengthy string of arrests; the accrued offenses range from disorderly conduct and drug possession to family violence-battery. He is, as he puts it, in the dregs of his life.
"I just feel like I don't know what to do with myself when I'm on the outside," he says.
But Cleveland has done good, too. He was in Marine Corps basic training when the Twin Towers fell. He worked on aircraft and served his country in a time of war. It was the best, most meaningful time of his life.
Like a growing number of similar initiatives across the country, The Barracks is aimed at reminding Cleveland of what all that was like — and giving him a better chance of success when he gets out.
A class-action suit could remedy bad paper discharges for vets with PTSD
SARASOTA, Fla. — What happened to 26-year-old Icarus Randolph sounds like the rehash of a tired script: the Fourth of July in an African-American neighborhood, a call for assistance, white cops respond, tensions escalate in the front yard, gunfire erupts as the entire family recoils in horror and another young black man gets wheeled on a gurney to the coroner's office.
This one occurred in Wichita, Kansas, on Independence Day, 2014. But the incident may well exceed the scope of a #blacklivesmatter scenario.
"We don't think it was racial, but we don't know what that cop may have seen when my brother came out of the house," says Elisa Allen of Wichita. "My brother had that 1,000-yard stare, like he was somewhere else. I wish I had grabbed him and hugged him and he might still be alive today."
Florida lawmakers want to give veterans medical marijuana cards for free
SARASOTA, Fla. — With data continuing to roll in that underscores the health benefits of cannabis, two Florida legislators aren't waiting for clarity in the national policy debates and are sponsoring bills designed to give medical marijuana cards to military veterans free of charge.
Here's your all-points guide to 130+ Veterans Day free meals and restaurant deals
Editor's Note: This article by Heather Sweeney originally appeared on Military.com, a leading source of news for the military and veteran community.
The following is a list of Veterans Day discounts at restaurants for 2019. Visit often as the list is now being updated as new discounts come in.
All of the discounts have been confirmed, either through press release or direct communication with the company. Check out all the other discounts being offered this Veterans Day.
Amazon is giving veterans a deep discount on Prime membership from now until Vets Day
While Veterans day brings with it a ton of great discounts — and a plethora of free sides and deserts from a string of chain restaurants — it's not often that you find a discount that runs the whole year round.