Garden Grove Veterans and Addiction Struggles

In October 2011, The Moving Wall will make its first ever visit to Garden Grove, California. The Moving Wall is a half-sized replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC, and has been touring the United States for the past 20 years. Its visit to Garden Grove will also be its only stop in Orange County this year.

The event will include an educational center and a resource fair for veterans. The resource fair will allow veterans’ organizations to set up tables and share information about the services they provide.

Recognition and education are important as many veterans find themselves facing as many, if not more, difficulties and obstacles after leaving the military as they did experience while enlisted. This is outlined in the following data from the Office of Applied Studies (OAS), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (SAMHSA).

Drug and Alcohol Abuse Among Veterans

The following statistics were found by some of SAMHSA’s National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), in 2000-2001 and 2003:

• An estimated 56.6 percent of veterans drank alcohol in the past month, compared with 50.8 percent of similar non-veterans.
• An estimated 13.2 percent of veterans admitted to having driven under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs in the previous year, compared with 12.2 percent of similar non-veterans.
• An estimated 18.8 percent of veterans said that they had smoked cigarettes daily in the past month, compared with 14.3 percent of similar non-veterans.
• Close to two million veterans, amounting to approximately six percent of the population of veterans in the United States, admitted to using illegal drugs in the past year.
• Of the 256,000 veterans who needed treatment for drug use in the past year, only 20 percent had actually obtained treatment during that time.

Rehabilitation Options for Veterans

For veterans, getting help for substance abuse issues can be a daunting task. Resource fairs like the one being set up to coincide with the exhibition of The Moving Wall in Garden Grove can be valuable contact points for those in need of assistance of all kinds, as even just becoming active and connected within the community can be a positive step for many.

Rehabilitation centers are another important option, and have been of invaluable help for many in need of support and treatment.

If there are not rehab centers in Garden Grove that fit your needs, try a search for Los Angeles Treatment Center