IVAW and NNU Unite for Veterans Right to Heal
IVAW Chicago has teamed up with National Nurses United through the Move the Money coalition to fight for veterans right to heal. Read about the collaberation in this Common Dreams article by Terry Davis.
Iraq Veterans Against the War and Nurses Unite for Veterans' Right to Heal
Move the Money Chicago (MTM) is a campaign that brings together organizations working to end the wars, tax the rich, and move the money to the funding of human needs. This has involved groups that don’t always work together: unions, civil rights and anti-war groups, community issue organizations find common cause in the campaign to MOVE THE MONEY. Sometimes this can lead to beautiful and unexpected results. Here’s a great example:
Organizers from two of our MTM organizations, National Nurses United (NNU) and Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) got acquainted through MOVE THE MONEY. It turned out that both had issues with the Veterans Administration hospital in Chicago. Veterans were concerned at the quality of mental health care that patients, especially women--many suffering from PTSD or the aftermath of sexual abuse (1 in 3 female veterans have been sexually abused by their fellow servicemen)--were getting, and the growing epidemic of veteran suicides (now at 18 suicides a day). Nurses at the VA, represented by NNU, were frustrated at low (unsafe) staffing levels, inadequate training, and lack of effective problem resolution by the Administration.
