THE PROPOSAL:
-To pass a bill that allows all Veterans Honorably Discharged to receive a FREE hunting and fishing license anywhere in the United States on Government property.
WHY?
-22 Veterans commit suicide everyday due to PTSD.
-The benefits of this bill is to not only allow free fishing and hunting licenses to Veterans, but to allow them the freedom of being able to go and visit the people they served with from state to state without any extra licensing expenses.
-A simple truth: The people most Veterans have served with are rarely from the same state they are from. Having a free license that is valid in any state allows a Veteran to be able to hunt and fish with them and without any additional cost.
-Here at Fort Villanow Veterans project, we have not only the facility along with the resources, but the volunteers to make it possible, thereby eliminating the burden off of the tax payer
Fort Villanow Veterans Project: 12650 East Hwy 136, La Fayette, Georgia 30728
Phone: 706-397-8860 www.fortvillanow.com ftvillanow@gmail.com
Fort Villanow Veterans Project has a very simple yet specific mission “giving veterans and their families a haven of hope”. It is a place that invites Veterans, from any branch of service to come and fellowship together. The Fort also hosts a plethora of events, ranging from scuba diving and snorkeling lessons for wounded warriors to fishing and hunting excursions. It provides the perfect comfort zone for people who have had similar war-time experiences and strives to do whatever they can to help fellow Veterans to win the war on PTSD. To help veterans win this war, the Fort is currently trying to get a bill passed that allows Veterans Honorably Discharged to receive a FREE hunting and fishing license anywhere in the United States on Government property.
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious condition that usually develops after a person has experienced a traumatic event during their life. The condition can cause intense fear and helplessness and create reactions that may include shock, anger, nervousness, fear, and even guilt. These reactions are common for a person with PTSD, and in most cases, if untreated, these feelings continue and can even increase, becoming so strong that they keep the person from living a normal life.
Studies have shown the benefits of hunting and fishing in the lives of people who suffer from PTSD, allowing physical and emotional healing. In England, there was a study done by Dr. Cooper, head of the psychology department in Essex University. The study was to focus on whether the pleasures of fishing and spending time in the great outdoors with likeminded individuals could help alleviate symptoms faced by military veterans diagnosed with PTSD. They took eleven Veterans, through the ages of 25 and 55 for a weekend long fishing trip. Three days before the trip, they did a psychological analysis on each participant. Three days after the trip, they did another psychological analysis. In each participant, there PTSD symptoms had significantly IMPROVED, and just from that one fishing trip alone.
Psychiatric experts across THE WORLD even agree on the benefits hunting alone can provide. Hunting trips allow opportunities for teamwork, fellowship, and a type of competitiveness that can sometimes be absent from normal everyday life. Unfortunately, there is a common stereotype that comes with any activity that involves the combination of guns and PTSD. But common does not mean universal and not one person, not even one case, is ever the same. The combination of having a free fishing along with a hunting license gives a Veteran an easy and convenient option for both and on a much more personal basis.
For people serving in the military, there is a simple truth. The people they served with, went to war with, saved lives with… Are very rarely from the same state they are from. Having a free license that is valid in any state allows a Veteran to be able to visit the people he served with and without any additional cost.
Twenty-two Veterans commit suicide everyday due to PTSD. This is completely unacceptable. If study’s upon study’s show the benefits of hunting and fishing, why not pass this bill to help? Fort Villanow has the facility, the resource’s and the volunteers to make this possible and wants to get this bill passed in order to help our fellow Veterans; wouldn’t you like to see it passed too?
