March 21, 2012 - Wounded Warrior Project™ (WWP) whose mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors, today presented its 2012 policy priorities before the Committees on Veterans Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives.Dawn Halfaker, President of WWP’s Board of Directors and a Wounded Warrior herself, testified before this joint session and shared the four key policy objectives of WWP in 2012:
Closing gaps and eliminating barriers to improved mental health of warriors and their families and caregivers; Fostering the economic empowerment of Wounded Warriors through policy initiatives to eliminate educational and employment barriers; Helping ensure access to optimal, long-term rehabilitative care for severely Wounded Warriors, and needed support for their caregivers; Improving the effectiveness of programs that were established to help Wounded Warriors and their families’ transition from active duty to successful community reintegration.
A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Halfaker sacrificed her right arm and suffered numerous other wounds while leading troops in combat in Baquba, one of the most volatile cities in Iraq’s dangerous Diyala Province.
She pressed the importance of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) providing timely, effective mental health care. “We certainly acknowledge that VA has made real efforts in recent years to improve mental health care, and that there are many very able, caring mental health professionals in the system,” Halfaker said. “But too many warriors are falling through the cracks and the gaps between policy and practice remain too wide.” read more>>>
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