From the outbox of Meyer’s inbox:
The prevailing wisdom around getting help for emotional issues is to seek out those peers who have been there. This philosophy applies to a broad range of support groups, crisis hotlines and various forms of therapy. Now, a special group called Vets4Warriors is taking the good work they’ve done for returning vets in New Jersey and spreading that support in all 50 states. The need for this kind of assistance can’t be understated. Hats off to Vets4Warriors for all the good work they do.
NEW JERSEY HELP LINE FOR TROOPS EXPANDS TO NATIONWIDE PROGRAM
By James Dao
A peer-group counseling program that has proven successful in New Jersey is being expanded for reservists and National Guard troops nationwide, in part to help stem the continuing problem of suicides within the military, the Pentagon announced this week.
The program, known as Vets4Warriors will use specially trained veterans to provide telephone counseling to reservists and Guard members living anywhere in the country. The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, which developed the concept, will run the program under the auspices of the Defense Department.
The university has trained 25 new counselors, all of them veterans and most with combat experience in Iraq or Afghanistan, to operate the all-hours, toll-free help line, 1-855-VET-TALK, which is already up and running.
Christopher Kosseff, president and chief executive for behavioral health care at the university, said the peer counselors are not therapists or psychologists: their job is to talk calmly and empathetically to Guard members who may be undergoing personal crises and to direct them to appropriate services, whether from the Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans service organizations or other private organizations.
The help line also has mental health clinicians available to take calls where there are concerns about violence. Counselors are expected to follow up with callers to make sure they received proper help.
“A lot of the people are calling not just about mental health, but looking for legal, financial or housing assistance,” Mr. Kosseff said. “So we train our peer counselors to help them find resources. Then we follow up to make sure connections are made. These aren’t one-call solutions.”
While the help line is not intended to be a suicide hot line – the Department of Veterans Affairs already operates such a service – its creation is partly a response to continuing high rates of suicide within the military. Last year, there were about 145 suicides committed by troops in Guard or Reserve status, nearly as many as among active duty troops.
About 660,000 Guard and Reserve troops have been activated to serve in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, though many callers are likely to have no combat experience. (A significant number of suicides are committed by troops who never deployed.) Mr. Kosseff said the program expects to receive more than 20,000 calls in its first year.
Although intended for Guard members and reservists who may not live close to military bases and all their services, the Vets4Warriors operators will take calls from anyone, and callers can remain anonymous.
Read the rest from the NY Times.
One Comment
What an awesome post and thank you for it! My dad was also in Vietnam! He passed away of a sudden heart attack when Miss Kelcee was 5 mths old! It is impossible for us to show our appreciation and gratitude to all the men and women who are fighting or have fought for our country! I think you did an amazing job showing it in this post! xoxo Summer