For many veterans and their children, military service is not only a privilege but also an honor.  Children of veterans learn valuable life tools such as strength, honor, resilience, and respect.  However, veterans combat service is unfortunately leaving many veterans ill or wounded, which is devastating to the children of those veterans.  Military children of combat injured veterans are not equipped to cope with the effects that war has had on their parent. 

 

Research indicates that when a veteran is injured, either visibly or invisibly their children often times exhibit or develop profound, long-lasting consequences such as stress, anxiety, depression, poor academic performance, and behavioral problems. Those behavioral problems may be a child slightly acting out and becoming mildly disobedient, while other children may participate in extremely detrimental and riskier behaviors including drug use and numerous criminal activities. 

 

Veteran Treatment Courts currently exist for veterans that suffer from the effects of war.  Such court programs assist the injured veteran in treating mental health disorders, which may have lead to poor and risky behavior including substance abuse and criminal activities.  Thus, it is imperative that we advocate for the military children and young adults who have also been deeply impacted by the effects of war so that they too may receive proper rehabilitative assistance.   

 

These children, our Lil Military Heroes, essentially served our country in the sacrifices that they made, as well as the veteran, except these children didn’t get to make their choice freely like the veteran did.  Therefore, children of injured military veterans deserve an opportunity to have another chance at life, and a better way of learning how to live in a civilian world as an upstanding and contributing member of society. 

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If you are an attorney and would like to assist with this program please click here or contact a team member at ContactUs@HeroMissions.org.