Day 7: The Veterans Experience

For the first six days of the Equity Challenge, we’ve laid building blocks to better understand concepts like privilege, power and marginalization from an individual level. Memorial Day is a time to reflect, honor, and remember those who have died in service to our country. Rather than take a break on Memorial Day, we felt it imperative to continue on this learning journey together, recognizing that the inequities that hamper our region don’t take a day off. Collectively, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties are home to nearly 200,000 veterans. As a result of a confluence of factors, veterans in our region face high rates of homelessness, unemployment, disability, post-traumatic stress disorder and mental health disparities. Today’s challenge will look at the complex experiences and inequities that veterans and military families face.

Reflect And Share:

1. How did today’s challenge make you feel? What is something you learned today?
2. Think back to the days where we examined privilege and bias. How are inequities multiplied for veterans of color or veterans of a lower socioeconomic status?
3. What material from today do you still have questions about or want to learn more about? What are ways you can further explore those questions?