Thousands Gather To Support Veterans In 5k 'Walk For The Wounded' Run
By Hadas Kuznits
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Several thousand people attended a 5K run in Media, Delaware County, to support veterans Saturday afternoon.
The $200,000 raised at the Walk for the Wounded and Warriors 5K run helps with the basic needs of returning war veterans.
"Saving their homes, protecting them from getting their cars repossessed, getting their utilities turned back on, providing food," said Nick Constantino with Operation First.
But he says the biggest issues are the mental health effects of war.
"There's a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of rage."
Veteran Brian Siegman says he suffered severe post traumatic stress following his deployments.
"It took me a lot of years to come home mentally."
He describes how he fell asleep with his toddler one night and unknowingly punched her while he had a nightmare.
"You feel a lot of guilt after that, a lot of shame!"
Constantino says this event is just as much about raising awareness as it is about raising money.
"It's unthinkable that we lost more men to suicide than we did in 14 years of war."
