Despite taking the same risk of death and costly sacrifice to their mental well-being, Black Veterans continue to suffer as mental health services are statistically less accessible for the demographic than their white counterparts.
Institutional racism continues to persist through channels of assistance for Black Veterans as the Department of Veterans Affairs has acknowledged that discrimination has likely played a major role in major discrepancies in assistance.
Data retrieved from the fiscal year of 2023 showed that 15.52% of all Black Veterans who applied for physical or mental health benefits were denied assistance by the VA, compared to 10.6% of white Veterans. This is consistent with reports from 2017, showing that Black Veterans seeking disability benefits for PTSD were denied 57% of the time, compared to a 43% rate of denial for white counterparts.
Of the 2,870 Veterans treated nationally in VA Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Programs in fiscal year 2017, Black Veterans receiving services from the VA experienced a higher rate of depression symptom recurrence 4 months after discharge compared to white Veterans. While services were proven to improve conditions across demographics, Black Veterans still experienced markedly poorer outcomes.
Additionally, a study conducted by the nonprofit research group Rand Corp. showed there were 1.76 suicide attempts among Black troops for each by a white service member. As services falter, so does the quality of life for Black Veterans compared to white former service members, resulting in higher documented rates of homelessness, alcohol use disorder, and suicide.
As an Army Reserve Afghan War veteran, Johnson showed warning signs of potential violence prior to the calculated attack on white law enforcement. He was previously recommended for mental health counseling by a fellow soldier who accused him of sexual harassment. Stating that they were platonic friends of over four years, she recalled an event when Johnson punched out a car window during an outburst, severing an artery and requiring medical treatment.
“I still have nightmares from what we did,” Paul says, explaining that insomnia brought on by PTSD has left him sleepless most nights.
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