Name: Freddie

Social Justice Group: Veterans/Life After War

Date of Fieldwork: November 15, 2017

Name of Organization: VA NY Health Care Center

Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: We met with 3 veterans, Chris, Charlie,

Type of Fieldwork: Interview

What I did:

We went to the VA NY Health Care Center and interviewed three patients from there.

What I learned:

I learned that many veterans don’t know about the benefits they get, or don’t know how to get them. They said that the VA gives them access to all of the benefits. I also learned that a lot of people enjoy being in the army. Chris said he worked at a nightclub and had his own apartment when he was in the army in Germany. A lot of people do it so they can get money or to get a good education.

What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:

In the fieldwork I learned that there is a lack of social justice for many Veterans. They get many benefits from being in the military, but a lot of them can’t access because they don’t know how. Also, many of them are treated very badly after coming home. They get booed and treated badly. The VA helps them get access to these benefits, but there is still a lot of veterans that can’t get access and are stuck on the streets without money or any family to go to.