MANATEE COUNTY – As Veteran’s Day draws near, a group of USF-SM professors are beginning research to improve the quality of life for veterans.
Dr Eric Hodges, a USF-SM social sciences professor and veteran of the U.S.M.C. feels that more information could be included in the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs’ study of veterans at the local level.
“They really just give limited information regarding what the veteran population looks like at the county level; so, age, gender, branch of service, those things but they really don’t provide any information about their health; their physical health, their mental health, their employment status, their housing status, things like that,” Hodges said.
Dr. Hodges and two other USF-SM professors are conducting a survey that will gauge Manatee County veterans on how they feel they’re lives can be improved.
“There’s a pretty high proportion of homeless veterans in the area, unemployment rates, and making sure that veterans are getting their jobs, and, we know that, nationwide, around 21 veterans are committing suicide on a daily basis,” Hodges said.
One way that veterans can complete the survey is online or the will also be able to find it in their mailbox.
“We’re going to randomly select 5,000 veterans from that data base and we’re going to mail them out to those houses,” Hodges said.
The surveys will begin to be mailed to veteran’s homes near Veterans Day. The online surveys can currently be found online at https://tinyurl.com/ycgdlbtl .
