Tom Mahany talks about Invisible Wounds

Описание: We speak with Tom Mahany, a Detroit-area artist, about his art and his efforts with his "Stop The Loss Foundation" (STLF), a Royal Oak, MI-based nonprofit that is dedicated to establishing visible recognition, honor, acceptance, comfort and healing for past and present service members suffering the effects of invisible wounds.

Tom notes that, "Military suicides have increased every year since 2004. The Army suicide rate of has now reached 20.2 per 100,000 among active personnel alone. No statistics are available for veterans. The military suicide rate has now surpassed the national rate among the rest of the population for the first time in history. The stigma associated with invisible wounds and a strained health care system have left these wounded warriors behind. The correlation in this chain of circumstances is undeniable. Our national loss to military service related suicide is unacceptable."

An article appeared in the Metro Times, a Detroit-area newspaper about a hunger strike he went on in Washington, DC in December 2009 to draw attention to his cause (http://www2.metrotimes.com/news/story....

On June 27, 2010 the United States Senate passed a resolution (SR 541) introduced by Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota designating that day as National Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day.

On Saturday, June 25, 2011, STLF will be hosting "Visible Honor for Invisible Wounds," a rally to commemorate the first anniversary of the resolution and to bring public prominence to all issues surrounding invisible wounds and PTSD. They have secured Area 2 (west side of the Russell Senate Office Building) on Capitol Hill for this event.

The overall purpose for this event is to further the education of our troops, veterans, families and communities about invisible wounds with emphasis on PTSD. To that end, they would like to invite 1000 PTSD-afflicted combat veterans and their families to join in a special day of honor, recognition and fellowship.
The day's events will include:

• seminars on resources and treatments available to PTSD sufferers;
• prominent speakers who will discuss their experiences battling invisible wounds;
• prominent speakers who will show their public support for recognition and awareness of PTSD and other invisible wounds; and
• public discussion of the need to openly support our troops and veterans suffering from PTSD.

They believe that by providing a public venue and opportunity for public discussion on these issues it will assist in eliminating the stigma associated with PTSD and in turn provide our troops and veterans with more resources to cope, recover and confidently return to productive civilian lives.

Tom also notes, "little can be done to shield our service men and women from the horrors of war, but much more can be done to help those suffering from its emotional effects. I hope you will consider supporting us in our efforts."

You can visit Stop The Loss Foundation's website at www.stopthelossfoundation.org. Tom can be reached at [email protected].