Last Wednesday, I went with the Leadership and Service Center on an Impact Weekly trip to the Tucker Center. This facility specializes in the care of disabled veterans, many of whom are elderly. This experience educated me on a topic I thought was already overexposed and talked to death: the care of veterans by the government.
It is no secret that veterans lack the benefits appropriate for the sacrifice they gave, namely poor healthcare. The Department of Veterans Affairs is notoriously laden with red tape and a lack of funding, leaving veterans out of luck. According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, around 11 percent of the American homeless are veterans and most have a form of mental illness or addiction. For a country that supposedly prides itself on its love for those who have served, the numbers are disappointing.
There is a thinly-veiled political side to the plight of veterans. As a red state, South Carolina is all too happy to latch onto feelings of patriotism on the Fourth of July and during the election season. However, a cognitive dissonance exists in conservative campaigns between being against giving handouts to the poor while also supporting disabled veterans. I hardly think it is the place of the party of billionaires to deny funding to those who have served our country.
There are many signs of this national issue in the Columbia area. Centers like the Tucker Center and the VA hospital on Devine Street exist in our community, yet they are nearly invisible to students. I personally did not know about the Tucker Center until I went, and I doubt anyone reading has either unless they volunteer specifically at this location. The situation in Columbia is a microcosm of the larger problem, and I think young people at our university should rise to the occasion and make a real difference to a veteran in need.