A Message from Martin Sheen about the National Veterans Foundation
Since the National Veterans Foundation’s Founder & President, Captain Meshad returned from Vietnam, he has been credited with being the “Paul Revere of Trauma” and working with the government to create the Vet Center program that now serve veterans in every state with 300 locations. He is one of a handful of experts who are responsible for the long overdue awareness of PTSD and the demands that condition makes on our entire nation.
34 years ago, Shad started the National Veterans Foundation. 400,000 veterans have experienced benefits from the NVF. The most compelling aspect is our crisis hotline, the Lifeline for Vets, where veterans that are trained to help other veterans process 10,000 calls a year. It’s believed that the 22 veteran suicides per day may be a low number since some states with large veteran populations were not included in the VA report from which the 22 number originated. Even if only one hero took his or her own life, there would be need for concern.
The NVF is expanding the crisis line to 24/7 which will enable our trained veterans counselors to handle about 25,000 annual calls from veterans seeking assistance.
At the same time, the NVF is leading the campaign to address the unfortunate issue reflected in the statistic that 4 times as many female vets are homeless in proportion to their active-duty total when compared to men on the streets..
A donation to the National Veterans Foundation is, of course, tax-deductible and will help pay for suicide prevention calls by the foundation.