In 2011, the median age of male veterans was 64, according to the American Community Survey done by the U.S. Age differences and other factors can create a divide among those who have served in the military. Many non-military people assume that all veterans are alike and that there is a supportive camaraderie that bonds all vets together, but this isn’t the case, according to Cragg. soil and away from service or war, the battle is not over for returning veterans.įor many, the road ahead can seem like an endless uphill climb, and they don’t know where to turn for help. In part, this is because once back on U.S. Homicide is not,” he added, remembering a soldier who had been in his unit who committed suicide within 24 hours of taking off his uniform upon returning home.Įvery day, 22 veterans take their own lives, according to 2013 statistics from the Department of Veterans Affairs. “The media presents a lot of drama around the image of a veteran,” Cragg said.

“What we worry about is the marginalization,” he said.Īccording to Cragg, 95 percent of veterans have not engaged in violent combat, yet the public image of veterans as rattled, psychologically unstable, potentially violent and homeless remains.

Once vets are given counseling and medical treatment, they are welcomed in by Green Vets LA for job training.Īlthough the organization offers veterans the chance to get their bearings and get back on their feet, its most valuable gift can sometimes be as simple as being with somebody who understands what they have been through.Ĭragg said that among the obstacles many veterans face – substance abuse, suicide and homelessness – feeling abandoned or misunderstood can be just as damaging. The organization works closely with the West Los Angeles VA Hospital. Green Vets LA has since made over 40,000 cloth shopping bags for the City of Santa Monica and has additional contracts with the City of Los Angeles among others. To make 100,000 plastic bags, it takes two workers less than an hour,” Cragg said. “To make 100,000 reusable bags it takes 20 sewers four months. While many people viewed the plastic bag ban as a potential job killer, Cragg saw it as an opportunity for out-of-work veterans. Their commitment to helping veterans is matched by a dedication to protecting our environment.Ĭragg credits Josephine Miller with the Santa Monica Office of Sustainability and the Environment with introducing him to the need for locally made cloth shopping bags as part of the effort to ban plastic bags. Jim Cragg (left) with veterans assembling first-aid kits for LAPD, Challenge Bears, bags and t-shirts. Marsurak, who is a Palisades High School graduate, is also a professor of psychiatry at UCLA and a psychiatrist-advisor to Green Vets LA. Susan Marusak and their six-month-old daughter Charley. “The sound of the sewing machine drowns out the sound of the dead bodies talking to me,” Cragg quoted her as saying, tears springing to his eyes.Ĭragg, who attended West Point and has a degree from UCLA, lives in Marquez Knolls with his fiancée Dr.

One female veteran at Green Vets LA was a combat photographer who documented the Berlin Wall coming down. The organization welcomes both male and female veterans. “Sewing is a simple, creative forum that functions as work therapy for the veterans because they are able to talk openly about their experiences with one another, and it trains them with employable skills,” Cragg told the Palisadian-Post. In 2010, Cragg founded Green Vets Los Angeles, a non-profit vocational rehabilitation program where military veterans who are homeless or at risk for homelessness are trained and paid to sew and silkscreen reusable shopping bags, T-shirts and teddy bears called “Challenge Bears” at locations in LA and Carson. Palisadian Jim Cragg with Challenge Bears and bags sewn by veterans. Army Reserve officer and disabled vet is helping other veterans stitch together the torn fabric of their lives and re-enter the workforce. That’s how this former Special Operations soldier, paratrooper, U.S.

what he does for a living and he’ll launch into an impassioned discussion about sewing. Not for Palisadian Jim Cragg.Īsk the successful founder and CEO of defense contractor Special Operations Technologies, Inc. Chronic neuropsychiatric sequelae of SARS-CoV-2: Protocol and methods from the Alzheimer's Association Global Consortium.For most people, starting a homebased business and growing it into a multi-million dollar firm would provide bragging rights for a lifetime.

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