PTSDA: Veterans networking with veterans -
"peer to peer"
"Veterans -- past, present and future"
PTSDA needs your participation and support (see below)
A nationwide network of community based, non-clinical, veteran lead support group meetings for those suffering from military trauma and seeking the fellowship of their peers. These meetings do not/do not replace medical, counseling or therapy resources. | Featured web sites:
Aging and Disablity Resource Centers (each state listing)
"Benefits of good social support;" NCPTSD information.
"Heroestohometowns" community assistance; American Legion coalition in WA State. Is there one in your community?
"Once a warrior, always a warrior," book by Charles W. Hogue Huffington Post PTSD/Military Life Series, very good.
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Welcome to PTSDA
A veteran's observation and experience with PTSD
These series of articles are well worth fully reading for our military folks who have served multiple deployments in wild and wonderful regions of the world then returned home to very different situations and family conditions. The author by right of his training, field experience, and insight has a unique view of the strengths and limitations of both organizational and personal psychology over time and ever changing deployments. For those interested, you can leave professional comments with article. http://havokjournal.com/nation/message-rip-instructor/?utm_source=Havok+Journal&utm_campaign=d315547b23-Havok_Journal_Daily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_566058f87c-d315547b23-214560261 Isolation and Relationships After the Military: A Ranger Speaks http://havokjournal.com/nation/isolation-relationships-military/?utm_source=Havok+Journal&utm_campaign=c298ae9ad1-Havok_Journal_Daily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_566058f87c-c298ae9ad1-214560261 Courtesy of: http://www.ptsdanonymous.org/about |
Current status of 501(c)3 Veterans Charities
Where can you go to check the rating of a charity you'd like to support? There are several organizations that rate charities: Charity Watch, the watchdog arm of the American Institute of Philanthropy Charity Navigator, America's largest independent charity evaluator Charity Ratings Watchdog Service and Non-Profit Organization Give.org, the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance GuideStar.org, information on charities not tracked by a watchdog service
The following articles highlight the confusing track record of some of the nearly 45 thousand veterans related non-profits known. · http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2014/nov/10/veterans-charities-dont-all-make-the-grade/ · https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=531#.VpWThq876rU · https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/?gclid=CJT5hf6ipcoCFRRlfgodluIIxw In the end, for those really interested, the following is the IRS guidelines for what and how such a legitimate entity should be setup and run: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/eotopicj99.pdf |
PTSD Anonymous needs your support
PTSD Anonymous needs your active support to further its mission of assisting those in the military/veteran community and our national population with local peer support meetings. PTSDA is currently reviewing its concept, staffing and meeting times/locations in light of: * A lack of volunteers and retiring staff members. * The need for a new Web Master and alternate backup. * The continued stigma encountered by many in the military to seek assistance. * The traditional long delays in processing VA claims and the subsequent waiting times to actually enter veterans’ services and to have daily local peer support while in treatment. * The poorly coordinated or absence of community peer and mentor support activities to assist veterans outside of formal agency programs, career transition, and life changes. * The lack of spouse and significant others (S/Os) support particularly in underserved areas, both in distance and travel times. We are looking to: * Invite more volunteer mentors and meeting coordinators to serve on PTSDA’s current Board of Advisors, to assist in running the PTSDA web site, and to recon new meeting locations, times and population bases. * Increasing organization-to-organization links and coordination with other community based military/veterans assistance programs willing to support the PTSDA concept.
What to Expect: PTSD isn't about what's wrong with you! It's about what happened to you! (Jim Davis, CEO, Veterans for Change) PTSDA is a concept for a peer-to-peer, mentor networking forum to discuss the everyday struggles of living with PTSD (TBI, MST, and other military related issues) and to explore possible solutions with others in a safe and caring environment. This highlights our veterans’ and families’ strengths to work together and care for others at the community level. They are already properly trained and highly experienced to working in teams and helping themselves. Therefore, there is no delay factor as no facilitator training is required. PTSDA is not a clinical program. PTSDA meetings are not intended to be “group counseling” sessions. We do not discuss the details of actual events. Those discussions are best left for counseling or therapy. Many soldiers and veterans, however, attend PTSDA meetings as a supplement to their counseling sessions and other treatment activities. It is envisioned that spouses, significant others (S/Os), and mature family members may want to have their own defined sessions also.
All Meetings are confidential, peer run and no-cost: No Rank or Position No Last Names No Attendance Taken No Reports Sent No notes taken No “war stories” Discussions Do Not Leave the Meeting No command or court mandated attendance Professional and productive comments greatly appreciated!
Visit PSTDA at: www.ptsdanonymous.org/about |
Options for continuing veteran suicides
PTSD Awareness Month and the Fourth of July ceremonies come but once a year but I feel we need to take more direct action daily to help our veterans and their families at the grass-roots, community level -- long, long before they are pushed to the wall by the impact of repeated deployments. One strong recommendation would be a major and collective effort to established a nationwide and well publicized network of face to face, peer to peer support groups to supplement existing medically oriented agency programs. How about having weekly such meetings at the 2,600 YMCA facilities across the nation? A strong and interlinked United Way network of web sites carrying current info on both local veterans activities at the county level along with up to date listings of veterans services actually existing locally? According to public reports, we actually have thousands of veterans entities raising huge amounts of money for purported veterans assistance projects. Yet as seen in the below article; time and lives are passing us by without ACTION to help individuals right amongst us long before their concerns reach a clinical level. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/06/us/politics/wars-elite-tough-guys-hesitant-to-seek-healing.html?hp&_r=1 Steve “K” Kubiszewski USA (Ret), combat veteran and WA State Veterans Advocate Retired: LMHC, MAC/CDP, NCC, CTS, CEAP http://www.ptsdanonymous.org/about E: ptsda@comcast.net FB and LInkedin.com “PTSD isn't about what's wrong with you! It's about what happened to you!” |
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