November is Military Family Appreciation Month

On October 8, 1919, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first “Veterans Day Proclamation.” The observance of Veterans Day is an opportunity to celebrate America’s veterans for their patriotism, willingness to serve, love of their country, and sacrifice for the common good.¹

In conjunction with Veterans Day, November is also known as Military Family Appreciation Month. Each year the President signs a proclamation marking the beginning of a month-long celebration of the Military Family and the sacrifices and commitment made by the families of the nation’s servicemen and service women.² Community businesses, leaders, and military bases work together to recognizes military families through various events, such as family fun nights, fun runs, community dinners, etc.

This year, there are ways that the Putnam County community is helping Veterans and military families.  The Putnam County Veterans Taskforce is hosting the 2^nd Annual Veterans Legislative Forum on Saturday, November 15, 2014 at the Bureau of Emergency Service Auditorium located at 112 Old Route 6, Carmel, NY from 9:00 A.M to 12:00 P.M. This is an ideal opportunity to speak to your elected officials or hear about issues facing Veterans such as military sexual trauma, Veteran suicide, Veterans Affairs benefits/healthcare systems, and several more. For more information, please contact Karl Rohde, Director of Putnam County Veterans Service Agency, at 845-808-1620 ext. 46019 or by email at karl.rohde@putnamcountyny.gov.

Additionally, the Putnam County Habitat for Humanity is looking for a military family (or any Putnam County family) to own the third home recently built that is located in Putnam Valley, NY. The applicant(s) must either work or live in Putnam County, be a legal resident of the United States, currently living in substandard housing, willing to provide 500 hours of ‘sweat equity,’ and have a gross annual income of $50, 000 to $70, 000. If you and your family would like to participate in this program, please contact the Putnam County Habitat for Humanity by phone at 845-230-8022 or by email at info@habitatiputnam.org.

The VetCorps Program and the Putnam County Communities That Care Coalition would like to thank all Veterans for their dedicated service and all military families for their support and sacrifice for their uniformed service member. If you have any questions or would like more information about the VetCorps Program  or the events discussed above, please contact the Prevention Coordinator, Chauntel Wright, at putnamvetcorp@gmail.com or VetCorps Supervisor, Elaine Santos, at putnamdfcgrantee@gmail.com. Both can be reached by phone at 845-225-4646.

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References

¹ http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp

² http://www.military.com/military-family-appreciation-month

Results from the Putnam County Needs Assessment of Veterans and Military Families

Beginning in May 2014, a needs assessment survey, conducted by the VetCorps Program and the Putnam County Communities That Care Coalition, was administered and collected that targeted veterans and military families. The survey is intended to help provide a more accurate picture of the needs of veterans and military families in Putnam County. The results of the twenty-five question anonymous survey will be used to guide development of programs, outreach, and advocacy of current services available in order to provide the best community support for this population.

Of the seventy-two respondents, the demographic results depicted that:

·         71% of the respondents were males and 29% females.

·         81% between the ages of forty-five and sixty-five or older.

The assessment was open for veterans, active duty/reserve military personnel, and military families to complete. As such,

·         66% served in the branch of the United States military and 31% were assumed an affiliated military family member.

·         Of those who served in the military, 62% served over seas with 71% having returned more than six months ago.

Of this particular sample, 63% of respondents returned more than nineteen months ago, but no less than sixteen months. It is also important to make note that 33% served during the ‘Vietnam Era,’ 16% served post-9/11, 14% served during the ‘Gulf War,’ 8% served during the Korean War, and the remained served during other ‘non-war’ periods. These percentages will help provide generalized representation of the respondents in order to successfully tailor the improvements within the community.

Respondents revealed that assistance and enhancements within the VA healthcare system, job training, and education benefits would help provide the most support of veterans and their families. There have been changes within the VA healthcare system that veterans and military families may be unaware of, therefore education and outreach is critical. For example, the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 is working to improve the access to and quality of care for veterans, expand VA’s internal capacity to provide timely care to veterans, provide real accountability for incompetent or corrupt senior managers, and improve education benefits for veterans and dependents.¹  

Based on the survey responses, another service that is in need of expansion is for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD can occur after enduring a traumatic experience. Traumatic events are something that is emotionally traumatizing that you hear about, visually witness, or physically endure. For example, combat exposure or a victim of a terrorist attack can lead to PTSD and often times can lead to substance abuse.²

Moreover, it was reported that 93% respondents felt alcohol is the most abused and prescription drugs is the second most abuse (44%) substance among veterans and active duty/reserve personnel, and/or military family members. According to Healthy Alcohol Market Place, “drinking has long been part of the culture of the military.  Being in very stressful situations, being away from family and home for long periods, being a young adult-- all of these factors contribute to, and booster an environment where heavy drinking is commonplace.” ³ According to a study in 2010,veterans aged 21 to 39 were more likely than nonveterans to report alcohol as their primary substance of abuse (50.7 vs. 34.4 percent) and less likely to report heroin as the primary substance of abuse (9.0 vs. 16.8 percent).⁴

A current initiative that has been successful addressing alcoholism in the military community, is California’s ‘Responsible Beverage Service Program,’ which trains servers to understand how alcohol is consumes, its affects among patrons, and suggested responsible sales practices and training for providers.² The Putnam County Communities Than Care Coalition sponsored an identical training held on June 10, 2014; in which there were 30 attendees from local establishments that sell alcohol and/or alcoholic beverages.

In addition to this initiative, the Putnam County CTC Coalition, Putnam County Health Department, and Putnam County Sheriff’s Office co-sponsors a ‘Medication Take Back’ day event bi-annually. The next event being held September 20^th at the American Legion in Cold Spring. This is an opportunity for residents to dispose of old prescriptions in efforts to limit its tendency for abuse. Prescription drug drop off containers are also located at Kent and Carmel Police Departments.

The aforementioned information was only a summarization of the survey results. If you would like a more detailed report please visit the VetCorps’s website at http://www.putnamncadd.org/html/vetcorp.html. If you have any questions about substance abuse preventative services in Putnam County, would like to become a volunteer, and/or suggestions of how to improve current services please contact VetCorps Prevention Coordinator, Chauntel Wright, at putnamvetcorp@gmail.com or VetCorps Supervisor, Elaine Santos, at putnamdfcgrantee@gmail.com. Both can be reached by phone at 845-225-4646. 

Thank you to all service members, veterans and military families for their participation!

¹  House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. (2014).  The veterans access, choice, and accountability act of 2014 highlights. Retrieved from the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Website: https://veterans.house.gov/the-veterans-access-choice-and-accountability-act-of-2014-highlights

2 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2014). What is PTSD? Retrieved from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Website: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/PTSD-overview/basics/what-is-ptsd.asp

³ Gervaise, L^. (2014). Alcohol in the military…a deadly foe!. Retrieved from the Campaign for a  Healthy Alcohol Marketplace Website: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?ca=3d5a148a-01ac-4a0b-a053-0c63b07e2d0d&c=8fc2eda0-7d71-11e3-ac95-d4ae529ce48a&ch=90e4b150-7d71-11e3-acbd-d4ae529ce48a

⁴ Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. (2012). Half of substance abuse treatment admissions among veterans aged 21 to 39 involve alcohol as the primary substance of abuse. Data Spotlight. Retrieved from the SAHAMSA website: http://www.samhsa.gov/data/spotlight/Spot106VeteransAlcoholAbuse2012.pdf

Putnam County 9/11 Day of Service Event!

We are proud to be co-sponsoring this event!

June is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Month

June is here and it is PTSD Awareness Month! What is PTSD you ask? PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and can occur after enduring a traumatic experience. Traumatic events are something that is emotionally traumatizing that you hear about, visually witness, or physically endure. For example, combat exposure or a victim of a terrorist attack can lead to PTSD. There are four symptoms of PTSD: 1) relieving the event and re-experiencing the symptoms through flashbacks; 2) avoiding situations that remind you of the event because they trigger memories of the traumatic experience; 3) Negative changes in attitude towards interests and/or activities that were once enjoyable to you; and 4) Feeling “keyed up,” known as hyperarousal. You may be jittery, on high alert, and/or having trouble concentrating or sleeping.¹

According to the National Vietnam Veterans’ Readjustment Study commissioned in 1980, at the time of the study 15% of veterans had PSTD and 30% had PTSD at some point in their life. The 2003 re-analysis revealed that 4 out 5 Vietnam veterans reported recent PTSD symptoms when being interviewed 20-25 years after the Vietnam War since starting in 1955 and ending in 1975!² Similarly, there are over 2.3 million American veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars and about 11-20% have PTSD and about 10% of Gulf War (Desert Storm) Veterans have PTSD.³

In order to temporarily alleviate the symptoms associated with PTSD, many turn to the use of alcohol or other potentially abusive substance such as prescription drugs. According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, 10-32% of Vietnam veterans seeking PTSD have alcohol use disorders.⁴ On the other hand, the use of prescription drugs has almost tripled between 2005 and 2008!⁵ Although prescription drug use has increased dramatically since 2002, alcohol abuse is most prevalent and poses a significant health risk. According to a study, 27% of Army soldiers screened 3 to 4 months after returning from Iraq deployment, met the criteria for alcohol abuse.⁵ If you or someone suffers from PTSD, there are several services available within your community. Please contact Chauntel Wright, VetCorps Prevention Coordinator, at 845-225-4646 or putnamvetcorp@gmail.com; or Elaine Santos, VetCorps Supervisor, at putnamdfcgrantee@gmail.com  to obtain information of services that are specific to you and/or your family’s needs. Also, contacting your local VA would be another beneficial way to seek help for PTSD symptoms. Just remember, PTSD is treatable and relatively common so you are not alone. Do not feel ashamed to ask for help!

Additionally, to help raise more awareness about PTSD, the Mental Health Association (MHA) will be displaying an information board at Putnam Hospital Center on Friday, June 27, 2014 to advertise their new program, Vet2Vet Peer Networking. Vet2Vet Peer Networking is led by Veterans, for all Veterans and members of the Armed Forces.  Vet2Vet participation is free, anonymous and confidential.  Each Vet2Vet gathering provides a place for peers (fellow Veterans and members of the Armed Forces) to network with one another via telephone or in person in a safe and nonjudgmental environment. They provide services to all Veterans and families from all eras without restrictions to service dates, discharge or dependency status. Please be sure to stop by to take a look at the display! If you would like more information about the Vet2Vet program, please contact Jessica Mazzucco, Vet2Vet Coordinator, at 845-278-7600 or email at jessica.mazzucco@yahoo.com

   

¹ U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2014). What is PTSD? Retrieved from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Website: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/PTSD-overview/basics/what-is-ptsd.asp

² Veterans and PTSD. (2013). Veterans statistics: PTSD, Depression, TBI, Suicide. Retrieved from the Veterans and PTSD Website: http://www.veteransandptsd.com/PTSD-statistics.html

³ U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2014). How common is PTSD? Retrieved from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Website: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/PTSD-overview/basics/how-common-is-ptsd.asp

⁴ National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. ( 2005). PTSD and problems with alcohol use. Retrieved from the SAMSHSA Website: http://www.samhsa.gov/csatdisasterrecovery/outreach/ptsdandproblemswithalcohol.pdf

⁵ DrugAbuse.gov. Topic in brief: substance abuse among the military, veterans, and  their families. scope of the problem. Retrieved from the DrugAbuse.gov Website: http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/topics-in-brief/substance-abuse-among-military-veterans-their-families

Vetcorps Program begins in Putnam County!

Chauntel Wright

In April 2014, the Putnam County Communities That Care Coalition started an exciting new program called Putnam County Vetcorps! Putnam County Vetcorps is being implemented in partnership with the Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America and AmeriCorps. Vetcorps is designed to help Veterans access key services and support in efforts to prevent substance abuse among this population and military families. 

There are over 100 Vetcorps program across the United States. Currently, Putnam County Vetcorps is the only Vetcorps program in New York State.  Nationally, the VetCorps VISTA project is being conducted by AmeriCorps in partnership with the National Guard Bureau's Prevention, Treatment and Outreach (PTO) Program, and the Corporation for National and Community Service. The program’s main focus areas include access to healthcare, employment, and substance abuse prevention.

 The focus over the next year will be outreach, awareness, referral to services, and volunteer recruitment. To start this process, the Coalition will be conducting a needs assessment survey for the Veteran community in Putnam County. The results of this ANONYMOUS survey will be used to guide development of programs, outreach, and advocacy for Veterans and military families. Hard copies can be provided to veterans who do not have internet access by the VetCorps Program.

The direct link to the anonymous Veteran Needs Assessment Survey is: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/H7QF6L8

Chauntel Wright is the Vetcorps Prevention Coordinator for the program. For more information, please contact either Ms. Wright at 845-225-4646 x12 or putnamvetcorp@gmail.com or Vetcorps Supervisor Elaine Santos at 845-225-4646 x13 putnamdfcgrantee@gmail.com. Please visit and join us on Facebook by searching “Putnam County Vetcorps” or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/PutnamVetCorps.