The Californer - Hundreds Attend Annual Purple Heart Day Banquet Hosted by the Citizens Commission on Human Rights at the Historic Fort Harrison

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Observed annually to recognize those who have been awarded the Purple Heart Medal for their sacrifice in service to the United States, this military holiday is a time to show gratitude to the recipients.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Californer -- The Florida chapter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR), an award-winning nonprofit that works to protect mental health human rights, began hosting an event commemorating Purple Heart Day in 2017 to honor the men and women who received this prestigious military decoration.

Attended by almost 500 people, a highlight of the event was once again the formal presentation by the Tampa area U.S. Marine Color Guard. This dramatic and skilled example of close-order presentation drilling moved the audience and was followed by a spectacular rendition of the national anthem.

Following a truly memorable meal provided by the exceptional culinary team at the Fort Harrison, guests heard from three Purple Heart recipients as well as the President of CCHR in Florida, Diane Stein.

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Ms. Stein noted that the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) was inspired in part by a military man himself, L. Ron Hubbard, whose compassion for mankind extended to everyone he came into contact with. Working with active military and veterans as early as 1940, Mr. Hubbard researched therapies to find effective, low-cost, and non-drug-based solutions to the problems he saw his men experiencing during service. His goal was to remedy what we would call post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) today.

Of the 4.2 million former service members prescribed psychiatric drugs, 1.75 million (41%) were prescribed antidepressants, which are typical treatments for PTSD as well as depression. The VA website's information on PTSD lists antidepressants as the only medication for treatment.

"We are doing a great disservice to veterans when drugs are recommended," stated Ms. Stein. "Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is a term invented to mislead consumers into thinking the problem is theirs and not the failure of the treatments given to them. The wrong solution is to approve and enforce more damaging treatments at the expense of veterans' lives."

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Stein ended by pledging to continue working with everyone at the event and with the different veterans' organizations in Florida to protect and improve lives while eradicating abuses in the mental health industry.

About CCHR: Initially established by the Church of Scientology and renowned psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz in 1969, CCHR's mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections. L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, first brought psychiatric imprisonment to wide public notice: "Thousands and thousands are seized without process of law, every week, over the 'free world' tortured, castrated, killed. All in the name of 'mental health,'" he wrote in March 1969.