When Black Vietnam Veterans came home in the 1970s, they were vilified by some and ignored by others, but 54 years later, they never thought they would be allegedly mistreated again, this time by the director of the once esteemed Chicago Heights Vet Center.
“As a result of their march against Washington, this is how we got the Chicago Heights Vet Center,” said Susan Wills, spokesperson for the Victorious Enlightened Team, a group of wives of veterans, and a member of the Chicago Heights Vet Center.
Wills has also been a member of the Chicago Heights Vet Center’s women’s support group since 2007.
“We never thought our programs that they need so bad would be cut and some Veterans banned from coming here.”
Wills is one of many calling for the firing of the Chicago Heights Vet Center Director, Elizabeth Martinez, whom she alleges has cut needed Veterans’ programs and banned others from using the services of the Center.
“Martinez has cut programs our Veterans have been receiving for decades, including Music Therapy, Anger Management, Marriage & Family Counseling, Couples Counseling, Individual Counseling, Suicide Prevention and the Combat Women’s Group,” Wills told the Chicago Crusader in an exclusive interview.
Reached in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes said the Department is looking into these allegations; a call placed to Martinez was not returned. This reporter was told she was scheduled out of the office on Wednesday, April 24, but she would get the message.
Hayes wanted to be clear about the Department’s concerns over numerous complaints against Martinez.
“VA is committed to ensuring a safe, welcoming, and inclusive environment of care for all Veterans, service members and their families at Vet Centers.
“Whenever there are allegations of wrongdoing, our leadership team takes them seriously, investigates them thoroughly and takes appropriate action. We would appreciate the opportunity to review these allegations and speak to those who voiced concerns,” said Hayes.
Other complaints have been received, among them a heart wrenching statement from Grammy Award winner Kim Stratton.
“I do a lot of things for the Veterans. I’m an artist so I do concerts for the Veterans, and I am a celebrity chef. I would do food for every Veterans Day. I started off feeding 50 Veterans and we went up to 500, and I fed them out of my pocket. It’s my way of giving back. I have a serious heart for Veterans.
“I have heard about the cuts being made, and I don’t like what I’m hearing because they were such a family. They cared for each other. They were a force to be reckoned with. Everybody came together for causes,” said Stratton. “When I opened my restaurant, all the vets showed up on Grand Opening day. They were amazing.
“To know that they are hurting and that the whole system is falling apart is so unreal to me. When the former director retired, there was nothing missing, nothing broken, but when the new director came in, all of those programs just dissolved.
“I was not able to do the types of programs like giving concerts and feeding the Veterans. It just hurts not to be able to sow seeds and make life better for veterans and to put a smile on their faces,” Stratton said.
“It’s unbelievable what is happening. Nothing was broken, so there was no need to try and fix it. My heart bleeds for the Veterans.
“The Chicago Heights Vet Center was a safe haven for them, a place where they could run to if they were having a PTSD attack or a battle of the mind. They had a place to go and talk it out, but it hurts to know that these vets don’t have these resources, and nobody is fighting for them.
“If you don’t have programs for them and have benefits, it’s not a VA center. They have been to war, and they need those programs because they were learning to express their problems through music and other programs that no longer exist,” said Stratton. “That place is falling apart.”
“Our husbands are combat Veterans with PTSD and other major health challenges. This support group is a great support system for us because we learn and practice coping skills, which help the entire family,” Wills told the Chicago Crusader.
Dr. Renee Dickerson, the former director of the Chicago Heights Vet Center reiterated that this VA center began in 1970 because the Veterans marched on Washington over the way they were treated after coming home from Vietnam.
“It had the highest productivity in the nation during my tenure as a counselor from 2007 to 2013.” She was the director from 2013 to 2022. She, too, is concerned about program and staff reductions.
Walter Sanders, Jr., an 80-year-old Vietnam Veteran, said, “We have a big turnaround in counselors at the center. I’ve been there going on 20 years. I suffer from PTSD and other ailments,” he said referring to post traumatic stress disorder. “We are not getting any directions. Things are not what they used to be.”
Referring to Martinez, Sanders said, “She said she is going strictly by regulations and said the Department of Veterans Affairs wanted her to run the center. Before, we had Dr. Renee Dickerson who was a great director. We got along with her very good.
“They got rid of Dr. Richard Doss, who talked about PTSD.” Doss is a psychologist and an expert on suicides among veterans. “For some reason they got rid of him,” said Sanders.
The Chicago Crusader attempted to interview Dr. Doss but was told he could not talk with media due to “legal reasons.” He had been at the VA Center for a decade. “It’s been a personnel turnover. I don’t think Veterans are getting the services that they need,” said Sanders.
“She completely cut the PTSD counseling sessions on Wednesdays,” Sanders added.
“We would help out other Veterans with turkey and food drives. We can no longer do that,” he said, because of Martinez’ new rules.
He cited the case of “One Veteran who goes to a Vet center for PTSD out South in Chicago, and he comes to the Chicago Heights Vet Center for anger management, and she (Martinez) said he could no longer go to two centers, but that is not true,” Sanders said.
“Veterans can go to any Vet Center they want to,” he explained.
“Veterans are not being helped, and we try to explain to her at the Chicago Heights Vet Center, not one Veteran has gotten into trouble because of PTSD or been arrested for being angry or for spousal abuse. It used to be a very good center,” said Sanders. “It met our needs.”
Sanders said 99 percent of the Veterans there are over 70, and they are Vietnam Veterans. “We didn’t get any psychological or any other help until about 20 years ago. That is when they started recognizing Vietnam Veterans had problems. We are trying to talk her into changing,” Sanders said, referring to Martinez, who is a social worker.
“We got a few young therapists, and when we look up, they’re gone,” he said. “We don’t have any Veteran therapists who have been in the service. All of them were young women. We don’t have a problem with that.”
Sanders confirmed there is one counselor who is 28-years-old “who knows nothing about Veterans. It’s very hard to deal with someone who is not a Veteran because they can’t feel what I feel or know what I know or see what I’ve seen,” he said. “It’s hard to understand the culture of Vietnam Veterans. I guess we work with the hand that’s dealt us.”
Theresa Gordon-Richmond, a Veteran who fought in Desert Storm, Afghanistan and Iraq, said, “I don’t go to the Chicago Heights Vet Center anymore because Elizabeth Martinez accused me of taping a meeting, which is not true. She accused us of sending links to other people outside of our group. I told her that her counselors do that, not me.
“She accused me of having my phone on hand, having someone listening to the meetings,” Gordon-Richmond said. “I didn’t see a need to go back there. It didn’t make sense what she accused me of doing.”
Gordon-Richmond had attended the Chicago Heights Vet Center to get help for PTSD. “I called her boss, and he wanted us to come to terms with this, but I can’t meet with her. She is not a vet, and she does not understand what we go through.”
“She doesn’t believe in PTSD. I walk away when people start talking like that,” Gordon-Richmond stated. “She doesn’t go along with our group, rather she comes in and changes it. I think she should be removed from that position.
“My husband is in the Tuesday PTSD program, and they are having problems with Martinez. Sometimes when someone dies or is sick, they collect money for a card to give to the families, but she said they should not be passing money on government property. She is far from being qualified for that position,” Gordon-Richmond stated.
She noted further, “She told us we can’t talk to Dr. Doss or visit with Dr. Doss. “Back in May, we put together a retreat for 12 women, and we wanted the counselors to come, but Martinez told the counselors they were not allowed to go there. She said they were not allowed to speak to their clients when they were not in the office. It doesn’t make sense.”
She said last November, her group, which meets the second and fourth Thursday of each month, couldn’t meet because of Thanksgiving,
“But we normally meet the following week. Martinez said we couldn’t do that and refused to allow us to use a room to meet. It would have been six weeks until we could get in there on December 17. She said no. I resigned.”
