veterans coming home is made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting
and by pride stores
military sexual trauma or MST is a term used by the VA
to refer to experiences have sexual assault or repeated threatening sexual
harassment
the veteran experienced during his or her military service national data
reveals that about one in four women
and one in one hundred men respond yes when asked if they experienced MST
when the screen by there be a provider recently
we talked to two women veterans who experienced MST they talked about the
difficulty in getting someone to listen
and what they did to get the help they need
I come from a very patriotic family so I enter the
military and I was at the 2009 MP company
military police unit that was on call for the white house the tournament
MP company was far a corrupt unit
the chain of command was cropped and myself and for other women were
basically
held hostage and our unit and we were
prisoners and I we were defending ourselves
against call friendly fire
I was threatened on a daily basis so if I was told I would speak about the abuse
I would be harmed in my family would be harmed fly when all those years
on afraid to even speak out are we were given chapter 5
are through the military which means inability to cope with military life
and it really kinda ripped at my insides because I thought
who can really come with being abused
Daily Mail
when this came to the attention a
outside media it was highly publicized
there was a three-day televised testimony our at capitol hill that we
had to
participation and it was a nationwide
on awareness about either the military sexual trauma that we had experienced
working I want my whole life with out
hell I I didn't even know I was even eligible for
VA benefits until
last year and I ended up here at soldier on
this the March by on what I was calm what I was coping with on a daily basis
I I didn't even know as PTSD
II back I was maybe going crazy and i was just given this diagnosis just
within the last few months and I would be hyper vigilant
I had panic problems I safety issues and trust and be
betrayal issues that I was dealing with Anna on a daily basis
I have no regrets I have no regrets about serving my country
and I am very fortunate that I had the opportunity to serve my country
I really do encourage people to come forward and
to to know that there is help available and that
a there's 0 a there's a way that we can
reduce symptoms improve quality of life and
and I I do get to be parda many wonderful success stories
a and sure there's struggles along the way
a man when people's you know when people what's a start the group also you know
symptoms will worsen before they get better and that's just the nature of
trauma work
but it means that we're working on something and
you know I believe weekend get through this together you know as a
as a group I make catches this season
to serve my country and just as
peoples there active doing today is
to serve my country and to die from a cuddle that right along
very honorable I went to basic training and Port Dickson Jersey
and
I wasn't really eager to her death give it up
little after being in basic training
I had a trauma and at that time I was not
the same person that time will be a sexual assault
I went to found my platoon leaders and
to my company commander and it was first happened in Iraq
and from that day forward and my life began to spiral down
I was very angry with authority I did make it to the three years but I was
very angry
and when I get out I mean that no
what what's going on with me that my family Emily knew something was wrong
never disclosing this matter to anyone
I capital for twenty years and
my life became the life I didn't want became a
I'm attic I did allow an awful thing
had been in jail morning morning
hours so many times and
not knowing how think they help that I need it
I was very angry at the government so anyway anything to do with
neba but it came to a point where
and began to feel suicidal I know
needed to signal
became such an Aug 8th 22nd
2013 11 here in little over a year
I was homeless may came here and about two weeks later I knew that was in the
right place but not the other one is here
showing concern in it was bad bad
work like a family here and the family long
I was in just about my pad or even
axle at a questioning one that's what can we do today to help him
I fed myself many years that I wasn't good enough to attend
and
I'm a cobbler's today act and came with crowds in spring
him and it was a suggestion
a staff member encouraging me
until even to take about going to college and
I said one at me I can still and
you know never it's never too old to learn having
made the right choice at 11 how these
to date veterans coming home
is made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting
and by pride stores
WG by: is proud to partner with the VA central western Massachusetts
soldier on in the bilingual veterans outreach centers in Massachusetts
to support veterans in their successful transition to civilian life
information at WG be wide-eyed veterans coming home
.org