Life After War: California Veterans Investigates the Challenges Faced by Veterans Upon Their Return Home

KQED and The Center for Investigative Reporting partner on specials to air July 25 and 26 on radio and television.

Award-winning filmmaker Mimi Chakarova focuses on female veterans at risk of homelessness.
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As home to more than 1.8 million military veterans*, the state of California has the largest population of veterans in the country. Throughout the Golden State, veterans strive to rebuild their lives, secure employment and gain access to education, often while battling a wide range of emotional and physical challenges related to their time in service. KQED and The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) launch Life After War: California Veterans, a multiplatform partnership that takes an in-depth look at the challenges faced by members of the armed forces when they return home and the different organizations providing services that can save lives. For all features and other resources, please visit kqed.org/lifeafterwar.

Life After War: California Veterans will include television and radio content, providing an in-depth investigation of this complex issue:

TELEVISION:
Friday, July 26, 2013, at 7:30pm on KQED 9
Life After War: California Veterans
Television special Life After War: California Veterans goes from Los Angeles’ Skid Row, where women vets struggle with homelessness in the transition to civilian life (directed and produced by award–winning documentary filmmaker Mimi Chakarova), to San Francisco, where veterans suffering from military sexual trauma can seek treatment at the VA Medical Center (The California Report’s Scott Shafer interviews Dr. Caitlin Hasser). Also, an innovative program at City College of San Francisco helps veterans succeed when they go back to school (Aaron Glantz and Monica Lam report). The television special is produced by KQED's Monica Lam. Watch a video excerpt.

RADIO:
Thursday, July 25, 2013, at 5:50am, 6:50am and 8:50am
Life After War: California Veterans Part 1
Many veterans originally signed up for the military with the hope of getting money for higher education. But often, combat injuries like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and brain trauma make it hard for soldiers to transition from the battlefield to the classroom. CIR’s Aaron Glantz reports on the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic at City College of San Francisco that provides services to veterans where they are needed most — on campus. This two-part series will air as part of The California Report on KQED Public Radio (88.5 FM San Francisco and 89.3 FM Sacramento) and on public radio stations throughout the state.

Thursday, July 25, 2013, at 10am
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KQED Public Radio's live call-in public affairs and news program, hosted by Michael Krasny, discusses the challenges faced by veterans upon their return home.

Friday, July 26, 2013, at 5:50am, 6:50am and 8:50am
Life After War: California Veterans Part 2
PTSD does not only afflict younger veterans. Many soldiers who served in the Korean War and World War II have been struggling with symptoms in their everyday lives without diagnosis. The California Report’s Scott Shafer reports on their stories. This two-part series will air as part of The California Report on KQED Public Radio (88.5 FM San Francisco and 89.3 FM Sacramento) and on public radio stations throughout the state.

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Life After War: California Veterans is the sixth special to come out of KQED and CIR’s multimedia partnership. The two news organizations most recently produced A Church Divided, which took a close look at homosexuality and Christian doctrine; Prison Break, which looked into the impact of Governor Jerry Brown’s far-reaching efforts to overhaul California’s prison system; Republic of Cannabis, which explored California’s marijuana trade; and On Shaky Ground, an investigation into the seismic safety of public schools that prompted calls for change. Two more specials are scheduled for 2013.

About KQED
KQED serves the people of Northern California with a public-supported alternative to commercial media. Home to the most listened-to public radio station in the nation, one of the highest-rated public television services and an award-winning education program, and as a leader and innovator in interactive technology, KQED takes people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places and ideas.

As other news organizations have shrunk, KQED has expanded its efforts to cover the issues and events that are important to the Bay Area. As the most trusted source of news in the Bay Area, KQED is a multiplatform operation with offices and bureaus in San Francisco, San Jose, Sacramento, Fresno and Los Angeles. KQED News programs include KQED Newsroom, current affairs specials produced in collaboration with The Center for Investigative Reporting, The California Report, Forum, 18 news broadcasts on KQED Public Radio daily and the popular blogs News Fix, State of Health, Mindshift and The Lowdown. Stories from all KQED news programs are featured online at KQEDnews.org.

About The Center for Investigative Reporting
Founded in 1977, The Center for Investigative Reporting is the nation's oldest nonprofit investigative news organization, producing unique, high-quality reporting that has impact and is relevant to people's lives. The organization’s stories appear in hundreds of news outlets, including NPR News, PBS Frontline, PBS NewsHour, the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Sacramento Bee, Newsweek/The Daily Beast, MinnPost and American Public Media’s Marketplace. CIR stories have received numerous journalism awards, including the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton, George Polk Award, Emmy Award, Investigative Reporters and Editors Award, and the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. Its reports have sparked state and federal hearings and legislation, United Nations resolutions, public-interest lawsuits and changes in corporate policies. For more information, please visit cironline.org.

* Source: Department of Veteran Affairs, 9/30/2012