Tammy Duckworth, director of the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) will discuss the hidden cost of war at a Veterans/Disability Advocacy Symposium from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 21 in the lower-level concourse at the DePaul Center, 1 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago. The event is free and open to the public.

Duckworth and Schakowsky will be joined by Lynn Royster, director of the Chronic Illness Initiative in DePaul’s School for New Learning; Stacy Kvet, Psy.D., clinical coordinator of DePaul’s Counseling Services; and Judith Kolar, director of the Productive Learning Strategies (PLuS) Program at DePaul, which provides comprehensive support services to students with disabilities.

“War veterans and the disabled face countless hardships and challenges that most of us can’t even imagine. We want to provide a forum to explore the issue and help them find resources to address their needs,” said Derrick Winding, president of the DePaul Veterans Advocacy Group, which is co-sponsoring the symposium with DePaul’s Staff Council Diversity Committee.

Duckworth will discuss the hidden cost of war in Iraq and Afghanistan now and for the next 50 years. Currently a major with the Illinois National Guard, Duckworth lost both legs during a November 2004 mission in Iraq when a rocket-propelled grenade struck the cockpit of her helicopter and exploded.

“Veterans have risked their lives for us to be free and pursue our dreams. We as a nation have an obligation to make sure that our veterans have the same opportunities they have allowed us to have,” Duckworth said. “The cost of war is not just the cost of armor and weapons used in battle; it includes the cost of taking care of our service members for the rest of their lives. The American people need to know the true cost of war.”

Schakowsky will talk about the economic disparity among veterans, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. Schakowsky, who recently was appointed to serve on the House Select Committee on Intelligence, opposed the Iraq War resolution and is a founding member of the Out-of-Iraq Caucus.

Royster will discuss chronic illness; Kvet will speak about mental illness and counseling services available; and Kolar will discuss the services available to students with disabilities through the PLuS program and the Office of Students with Disabilities, such as test proctoring, adaptive computer equipment and real-time captioning. Information tables also will be set up at the symposium to offer details about a variety of services and resources for veterans and the disabled.

For more information please contact (312) 362-6367 or e-mail snlevents@depaul.edu.