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| © 2007-2008-2009, Nadia McCaffrey, the Patrick McCaffrey Foundation & the villages, all rights reserved © Formed in 2006-2007, the organization is a peace based organization for members of the military who have served in the war, we are focusing on the Iraq & Afghanistan conflicts, however, this foundation is to help all war veterans . We believe the best way to support our troops is to bring them home now and take care of them when they get here. |
| Hi Nadia, I hope your well. A spouse of a veteran has donated two wheelchair to veterans in need. Let me know if you know anyone who can use a powered wheelchair. Mary Mary Jalufka, Owner MindFul Referral Services PO Box 273282 Concord, CA 94527 Nadia@veteransvillage.org |
| Thursday, March 20, 2008 New Self-Assessments for Mental Health Protect Anonymity, Offer Referrals for Treatment Want to know if you’re exhibiting symptoms of PTSD? Do you suspect one of your buddies is abusing alcohol to cope with combat or post-combat stress and could use professional help? Has your spouse come home from deployment and returned a different person? Service members seeking answers to these types of questions can now assess their health via a new set of self-administered, anonymous screening tools offered as part of the Mental Health Self-Assessment Program (MHSAP). This DoD-funded program provided by the non-profit organization, Screening for Mental Health, Inc., covers a variety of psychological concerns and is especially helpful to service members and families struggling with issues of stress, anxiety, and depression during a post- deployment, readjustment period. "No one is immune from the stresses of everyday life, and especially those associated with deployment,” explained Captain Mark Paris, Ph.D., Deputy Director, Psychological Health Strategic Operations, Force Health Protection and Readiness. “Here is an easy, quick, and private way of finding out if seeking help might just be a good idea." The questionnaires are short, free, and offered 24 hours a day online (at militarymentalhealth.org) and by phone (1-877-877- 3647). They will also be administered at special events held at installations around the world. The six available questionnaires cover depression, bipolar disorder, alcohol use, general anxiety disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, and adolescent depression. Each questionnaire includes a demographics section asking for info like age, marital status, military rank and status (if any), and deployment status. A series of questions follows that gathers information on a person’s mental well-being. Some questions focus on sleeping and eating habits, some on mood and attitude, and other ask about a person’s ability to function and concentrate. When linked together, the answers to these questions create a picture of how an individual is feeling and whether they could benefit from talking to a health professional. If an outcome results in a recommendation to seek professional help, the individual receives feedback on who to speak with and/or where to go, whether it’s a chaplain, a clinic, a TRICARE provider, or the VA. Appropriate hotline numbers and info on finding support groups are also provided. Often service members hesitate to seek help for emotional issues. They’re understandably concerned about the stigma associated with psychological treatment. But these screening tests can be taken on the service member’s time, at any time, and without anyone else knowing. And the results of a screening can help persuade a person to seek treatment. “Anonymity allows people who are distressed to gauge where they are as far as their need for help goes,” said Katherine Cruise, Director of Communications and Marketing for Screening for Mental Health. “This is a discrete way to take that first step toward treatment.” Providing easy and anonymous screenings for psychological health advances the Military Health System’s commitment to health and resilience in the military community at large. DoD and Screening for Mental Health, Inc. are hopeful that this method of screening will help service members and their families catch problems before they grow into more serious conditions. “Our goal is to reach service members and families who struggle with the stress of military life,” said Cruise. In addition to the self-assessment program, Screening for Mental Health, Inc. created A Different Kind of Courage: Safeguarding and Enhancing Your Psychological Health, an educational video containing interviews with military personnel and families that explores military mental health issues and offers advice on how to approach a family member or friend who may need professional help. The full video and its trailer can be streamed at Screening for Mental Health’s Web site. “You want your spouse to come home and just open their arms and just hug you,” says the wife of a recently deployed Marine in the video. “But in fact, they’re dealing with a lot.” MHSAP questionnaires are available 24/7 at militarymentalhealth.org and 1-877-877-3647. Screening for Mental Health, Inc. offers free kits of materials to installations wishing to hold mental health and alcohol education events. The organization has similar kits for Family Readiness Groups, Chaplains, and other groups that help military families during deployment cycles. You can order the kits online. |
The mission of Patrick McCaffrey’s Foundation is to promote mental and holistic wellness and palliative care among veterans returning from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, especially those suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), by providing a live-in retreat village, wherein with the help of trained professional staff and volunteers, veterans will find inner healing and an eventual re-entry into society. The Patrick McCaffrey Foundation is a nonprofit public charity, IRS 501c3, that provides activities to benefit American military veterans and their families. The activities include programs and services that help support veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq wars to transition back to their families and communities. |
| Comments from Dr. Jonathan Shay Soldiers Project Conference Los Angeles, CA May 17, 2008 *Please note, these comments are not exactly transcribed or complete and are written to reflect most of the general ideas and concepts that Dr Shay presented of during his address to conference attendees. Recovery happens only in community and it is most meaningful when done among comrades. The idea of combat [traumatic events] is very important preventative measure to stress injuries (PTSD). The minimum case of community is three people. There is something that happens when the group is broken. If two leave, one very often has issues with ideas and thoughts of: are the two planning to harm, exploit or humiliate me? There is also the issue of social distrust; it is one of the most destructive elements of damage to a veteran's spirit. There is a primary injury ... and then there are complications secondary to the original "primary" injury. In combat, there are many examples of adaptation of survival. But these adaptations often don't apply in garrison or civilian life. Often, these adaptations continue once the veterans is no longer in a combat zone ... as in back home with family; and there is an unavoidable impact on the family. One adaptation that is well known to family members (especially spouses) is the requirement to shut down emotional response - grief Recovery happens only in community and it is most meaningful when done among comrades. The idea of shut down. Many wives have described it as the "Ice Man." There often is an active expectation among unit cohesion is very important. Training together and establishing strong cohesion prior to, during and after unit cohesion is very important. Training together and establishing strong cohesion prior to, during and after combat [traumatic events] is very important preventative measure to stress injuries (PTSD). The minimum case of community is three people. There is something that happens when the group is broken. If two leave, one very often has issues with ideas and thoughts of: are the two planning to harm, exploit or humiliate me? There is also the issue of social distrust; it is one of the most destructive elements of damage to a veteran's spirit. There is a primary injury ... and then there are complications secondary to the original "primary" injury. In combat, there are many examples of adaptation of survival. But these adaptations often don't apply in garrison or civilian life. Often, these adaptations continue once the veterans is no longer in a combat zone ... as in back home with family; and there is an unavoidable impact on the family. One adaptation that is well known to family members (especially spouses) is the requirement to shut down emotional response - grief shut down. Many wives have described it as the "Ice Man." There often is an active expectation among combat veterans (especially those with PTSD) that there is potential for harm or humiliation in the civilian social arena ... Who are you? What is your game? Many psychologists and psychiatrists have formed a habit of calling this reaction "paranoia." I disagree with this and urge that caregivers don't call this paranoia. One unknown is what elements of the primary injury are reversible. But the primary injury rarely wrecks a veteran's life. One example of this behavior is when a veteran takes his child to a baseball game and sits in the truck way out on the 3rd base line and watches the game from a distance. But it is the complications of the primary injury that are catastrophic. "Get this guy away from me" is a common reaction of leaders and some care providers. Management and treatment of the complications from the primary injury is possible ... but not in a dyad; among two individuals who share a sociologically significant relationship. Recovery from damaged character is possible. The three know things that protect the mind and spirit for veterans are: cohesion, leadership, and training. There is the farmer analogy: The ancient farmer who sustains a physical wound or illness during the season where nutrition is low will have a much lower potential for wound healing; same with veterans in combat. There is also term called "social nutrition." It relates also to cohesion and camaraderie. Then there is something that vets do to protect themselves from secondary trauma. They set up all kinds of weird shit, like tests of trust because of their expectations of harm by others through exploitation. And in the case of care providers, there is something known as "splitting" where the veteran ends the treatment and relationship with the care provider. For managers of care giver staff, it is also important to maintain a sense of strong community, cohesion and trust among the care provider team. Mental health units are experiencing a rate of tremendous turnover in community with the current heavy load. There are burnout, meltdown and suicide issues among care providers. In the care giver community there is the important idea of "struggling safely together." From the aspect of mental health care team management, it is far more cost effective to get ride of the "regular schedule" mentality and to make the needed changes to adapt to the patient load. There is also the concept of "moral moron" [no details written down about this]. On sleep ... which is very simple and extremely important ... but is still a big unsolved problem within DoD culture, especially the macho culture of the Marine Corps. With sleep deprivation, comes a loss of capacity for "higher mental function" and cognitive frame shifting. Sleep deprivation causes the frontal lobes to be knocked "offline." I have had positive response to this when I talked about it during sessions with members of the CNO Strategic Studies Group [Who has attended?]. The problem with military culture is that there is no current "sleep doctrine." Sleep is not a logistical concern as is beans, bullets and bandages. Concern for sleep logistics simply does not happen within the culture, especially in combat theatre. The same could be said about the issue of hydration 20 years ago. Where you would have a particularly macho Marine say, "I can run a 20k and not have to use the water in my canteen, what's your problem?" Today, at Camp Lejuene, there are urine color charts to check the color of Marines' urine to educate them on the recognized issue of hydration safety. But the sleep culture has not yet changed. In the realm of sleep, it is not yet supported within the military culture. And the consequence of that is the sleep deprived mind inside the combat zone ... the literal voice of the sleep deprived brain is, "Kill 'em all and let god sort 'em out." |
Hi Nadia, Below is some of our information, I'm not sure if we have e-mailed this information to you before. There is an attachment of a flyer for our Fallen Heroes Program. Tutor Request Form -is what we fax the families if they are interested in signing up. We would like to provide services for more families but will need your help in having the families get in contact with us or obtain their information. Below is a description of the services that the children or spouse of the fallen will receive. Professional Tutors of America would like to offer the following services to the nationwide surviving dependents of the fallen in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars: 1. A minimum of one hour of free tutoring per week. 2. The tutoring will be for K-12 students and surviving spouses who are continuing their education. 3. The tutoring will take place in home or a nearby location. We have been in the business of helping kids for over 25 years. The company is owned an operated by a veteran, Bob Harraka. Below is a link from the Orange County Register that was written about our Fallen Heroes Program. http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/brea_lahabra/business/article_1595735.php Thank you Nadia. I will call to update you. If you have any questions please let me know. Sincerely, Ernesta Brito Area Coordinator Ernesta@professionaltutors.com (714) 784-3455 or (800) 832-2487 Ext. 255 |
| The Patrick McCaffrey Foundation, named after Sergeant Patrick R. McCaffrey, the first California National Guard, since WWII, (from the 579th Engineer Battalion from Petaluma), to lose his life in Iraq on June 22, 2004, is committed to bringing healing and hospice, as well as career counseling and training, to veterans returning from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its founding member and President, Nadia McCaffrey, mother of Sergeant Patrick McCaffrey, wants to carry on the work her son would have pursued had his life not been curtailed so prematurely. Patrick, who did not expect to be deployed to Iraq, decided to honor the commitment he made to help people by going to Iraq as a leader and Combat Life Saver, bringing healing and love to his fellow soldiers and the Iraqi children. |
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Volunteer Advocates Serve Vets BRETT: Volunteer advocates serve vets By BRIGID BRETT For the San Diego North County Times | Posted: Friday, January 22, 2010 12:00 am Although Chaplain Fred Tittle left Vietnam in 1970, he only filed for compensation from the Veterans Administration in 2003. "I never considered filing a claim; as a matter of fact, it was filed for me ... I'm not sure if I ever would have unless prompted by someone else, another combat veteran. This is one of the reasons I do the work that I do with injured veterans; I know how difficult it is to ask for help." Tittle is a former combat-disabled Marine who is working as chaplain at Moffett Field, located near Sunnyvale, with combat-disabled veterans as well as active duty members. Most of the injured have traumatic brain injury and PTSD. The last time I talked to him, he had just helped an Iraq veteran and his family who were living in a homeless shelter find "a more suitable, calm place to stay and get them connected with help and resources." The couple have a young daughter ,and the wife was about to give birth at any moment. On a given day, Tittle will drive a soldier to her doctor's appointment, defuse a potentially violent altercation with the police and help a confused and frustrated veteran fill out his mountain of forms so he can get his disability compensation. He does not get paid for any of this. John Keith, an Iraq veteran, was at the lowest point of his life when he e-mailed Nadia McCaffrey last year. McCaffrey's son, Patrick, was killed in Iraq in 2004, and she has since become an advocate and "kind of a mom" to many young veterans who have been flailing, utterly alone and desperate in the months and years after serving their country. In physical and emotional pain, Keith felt like he couldn't keep trying to get his benefits, trying to deal with the VA, trying to find medications that wouldn't make him have black-outs. It was through McCaffrey's emotional support and practical guidance that he was able to regain his strength and start advocating for himself ---- and others. McCaffrey does not get paid for saving and rebuilding lives. Mary Ellen Salzano started the California Statewide Collaborative for Our Military and Families because she saw the need to save lives by not only connecting the dots, but connecting the humans. She spends most of her waking hours helping people who are struggling with a myriad of issues and a sense of deep desperation, to get in touch with people who might be able to help them. She does not get paid. The VA has seen a 26 percent increase in suicides, mostly among 18- to 29-year-old veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It's time to create a new kind of work force ---- of paid advocates. BRIGID BRETT writes from Valley Center. Contact her at brigidbrett@aol.com. |