A Natural Rx for Veterans By Assemblymember Didi Barrett, 106th Assembly District, and Lt. Col. (ret.) Aaron Leonard. Campaign Manager, Sierra Club Military Outdoors
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n the most recent federal budget, the Department of Veterans Affairs received $13.2 billion to fund mental health services for veterans. This was an increase of nearly $3 billion over the previous year, and it shows that mental health care is an increasingly serious issue facing the VA -- as it is throughout the state and country. These funds provide crucial health care to veterans, but more and more, veterans are pairing these stateof-the-art treatments with a time-honored one – spending time in nature. The transition from military service to civilian life is not always smooth. Many veterans experience considerable challenges upon returning home. Exposure to physical and mental trauma, in combat or simply through regular duties, and long deployments away from friends and family can leave scars -some visible, many invisible. For these brave veterans, their service may have ended, but its weight can linger long after they have made the transition. Some of these less visible effects of war, like traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress, and military sexual trauma can be equally or more disabling than an obvious physical injury. That can make it even harder to adjust to life back home, and for veterans who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color, systemic racism encountered both during service and after returning from deployment can exacerbate that trauma. For far too many veterans, this transition ends in tragedy. The great outdoors offer many veterans a different path. With its proven mental and physical health benefits, spending time in nature offers a compelling option for veterans to heal from service-related trauma. Research into the effectiveness of outdoor recreation as therapy shows significant improvements in mental and physical well-being, social function, and outlook on life. Recreation on public lands can be very effective whether it’s part of a structured program or simply with family and friends, while ultimately reducing reliance on costly prescription medication. And with a lower barrier to entry and potentially fewer stigmas than clinical treatments, these outdoor activities may be especially effective for the veterans most in need of help. Unfortunately, nature is not always accessible to all veterans. Barriers like distance, lack of transportation or unfamiliarity with outdoor activities often prevent veterans from experiencing the full benefits of time spent in nature. Fifty percent of veterans likely recreate on our beautiful public lands, but only 1-2 percent are able to do so as part of structured therapy programs.
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NYSAC News | Summer 2022
Here in New York, we are working to change that. Our state took an important step on November 11, 2020 with the enactment of the Outdoor Rx Act, which seeks to dismantle the barriers that have kept veterans from healing on New York’s public lands and waters. Now we’re taking the next step; the New York State Division of Veterans Services, Veterans Service Organizations, environmental and outdoors groups, universities, and more are partnering to launch the Outdoor Rx Coalition. By combining our efforts, we will ensure that policymakers have the latest research and evidence to support the veterans most in need of the healing power of nature. Our early efforts called for including more veteran-focused programming in parks, on waterways and on public lands; simplifying public transit for veterans to be able to access these green and open spaces; and revising fee structures to ensure that a lack of funds doesn’t prevent a veteran from healing in nature, but we can’t stop there. We need improved coordination between state and county agencies that offer veterans support. We also need to improve outdoor education and infrastructure, including increasing access in parks to people of all abilities and strategically upgrading transit systems. These improvements would improve health and quality of life not only for veterans, but for all New York residents. The outdoors can provide critical therapeutic and healing benefits for veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress and other combat-related trauma. Right now, too many veterans do not have access to these benefits. The Outdoor Rx Coalition is working to change that. Veterans served to protect our country and its public lands and waters. They should be able to heal on them.
