The halls of the West Haven Veterans Hospital in Connecticut are empty with the exception of the occasional orderly wandering in and out of rooms. There is a distinct smell of excretion and garbage and the lighting is dingy, as if the fluorescents haven’t been dusted since the buildings initial construction. Even having prepared myself knowing that Veterans Hospitals are notoriously under-staffed and lacking in funds, this is not what I was expecting.
The Citizen Leaders program at Quinnipiac University ran a program this semester called “Hope for Heroes”. The group, which is devised of juniors and seniors on campus who are in their last year of the leadership program, ran a drive to collect items that they then delivered to the West Haven VA - they are among few young people the ward on the third floor in building two ever get to interact with.
“You would have a devoted audience if you came back again, I’ll vouch for that,” said one of the World War II veterans.
According to Mary Lou Lauricella who is an Art Therapy Director at the West Haven VA, the third floor doesn’t see many young people volunteering at all. We were encouraged to come back if we had the time and the older veterans, even those from World War II, clapped when Lauricella announced our arrival.
“You might not think they care that you’re here, but you have no idea how much this means to them,” Lauricella said.
One other volunteer, a woman in her early ‘90s, told me that she was thrilled to see young people doing something good for the community. “I read the paper and they always talk about all the bad things your generation is doing, it’s nice to see that there are good people out there. I wish they would write about that,” she said.
Marty Naugher, a Voluntary Service Specialist at the VA Central Office in Washington DC, said that out of 80,000 people who volunteered for the VA in 2008, 20,346 of them were youth/student volunteers. But even with an increase in veterans between the age 20 and 25-years-old, young people are not turning out in increased numbers to help those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
According to Mary Beth Hynoski, who is a Voluntary Service Program Manager for the New Jersey Veterans Affairs Health Care System, there has been no increase in youth volunteers, mainly between the ages of 18 and 25 even since the war in Iraq began in March of 2005.
Volunteer Chart -
RS Volunteers Aged 0 to 10 years 0
RS Volunteers Aged 11 to 20 years 78
RS Volunteers Aged 21 to 30 years 13
RS Volunteers Aged 31 to 40 years 10
RS Volunteers Aged 41 to 50 years 21
RS Volunteers Aged 51 to 60 years 50
RS Volunteers Aged 61 to 70 years 75
RS Volunteers Aged 71 to 80 years 86
RS Volunteers Aged 81 to 90 years 80
RS Volunteers Aged over 90 years 6
“Our numbers haven’t increase, however we have received increased calls from prospective volunteers that express an interest in volunteering with the Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom Veterans,” said Hynoski in an email.
Karen Blanchette who is a nursing major at Quinnipiac and in her third year applied to the VA as part of her summer clinical but was quickly discouraged.
“I really honestly applied to work at the VA for selfish reasons,” said Blanchette. She claims that while the patients at the VA offer a more rewarding experience the chaos of working for a government run hospital turned her off to the internship possibility.
My own experience trying to get in touch with Mary Lou Lauricella even for a visit was complicated enough to help me see where Blanchette stands in her qualms about working for a VA hospital. Weeks of phone tag or no returned calls at all prove just how poor communication is in many of these hospitals. That same lack of communication is ultimately what made Blanchette reconsider working her summer clinical at the VA and instead took a position at Saint Raphael’s in New Haven.
The problem definitely lies in part to a serious lack of communication on part of the VA system, but with most hospitals being understaffed its understandable. Hynoski claims the VA does nothing different to target different age groups of volunteers which seems like it could be part of the problem.
“Regardless of age our volunteer program seeks volunteers that can commit to a minimum of 50 hours of service to ensure we are meeting the needs of the medical center,” said Hynoski.
There is a serious lack of youth involvement at VA Hospitals, which is shocking considering how many high schools now require some form of community service in order to graduate. With colleges now looking for more well rounded students, the local VA would be the perfect place to pick up volunteer hours and help out returning soldiers who are suffering for a war that has been less than popular in it’s four year stint.
For now it seems the local VA Hospitals will take any help they can get, even if it is from people who are older than most of their residing patients. At the end of our visit Lauricella handed me her card with an email address, told me any visit would be nice from young people like us and thanked us one last time. The quiet hallway as we walked out was a reminder of just how alone a lot of our nations veterans are.
(Top two photographs courtesy of Nicolette Yevich. Bottom photograph from www.whereistheoutrage.net)
If you're interested in volunteering visit the government website. http://www.connecticut.va.gov/giving/index.asp
Mother & Daughter Work With the VA
Marissa Hynoski has taken on the tradition passed down to her from her mother Mary Beth. Marissa, a junior Physical Therapy major at Quinnipiac University, has spent the last six years volunteering at the same VA hospital her mother has been working for as a Voluntary Service Program Manager.
“I think that once Marissa started volunteering she enjoyed it and found her volunteer assignments rewarding,” said Mary Beth.
Marissa claims that the start of her volunteer days with the VA were not smooth sailing, but that while she may not have wanted to work there initially the experience has changed her outlook on military service and those who commit their time to it.
“While I see what they do is valuable, it severely disheartens me to see that many give their life, limbs, health and family to be forgotten about,” Marissa said.
Marissa says that one of her goals in life is to work with wounded veterans by fitting and training them for prostheses so that they have a chance to regain a normal life.
Mary Beth started out working for the VA New Jersey Health Care System in 1982 as a Recreational Therapist and has since spent the last 15 years as a Voluntary Service Program Manager. The job involves the recruitment and training of volunteers as well as coordinating activities for the medical center.
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