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Reminder Assistant Editor SPRINGFIELD She was a mother on a mission. She said she "dragged" her son to the Western Massachusetts Stand-Down at the Greek Cultural Center last Friday. The annual Western Massachusetts Stand-Down brings services such as healthcare providers, counseling services, legal aid, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, Social Security Administration and many other services together for homeless, needy and all other veterans, active duty military and their families. She said her and her husband took time off from work to make sure that their son came to the event to get the help he needs and deserves. Her son was a Marine on his second tour in Iraq 10 months ago. He's home now; he completed his term of service; and he is now battling severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) rather than insurgents. While in Iraq, she said her son tried to get help for PTSD, "but they gave him Prozac and sent him back out." She asked that she and her son remain anonymous because she said he is not an exception but a normal soldier trying to reintegrate himself into life here in the United States. She said he is trying to get out of "survival mode." "You go into [Iraq] and you take on a different mindset," she said. Even now that he is home her son carries a knife at all times, she said, and "he can't handle crowds." At the Stand-Down, organized by the Western Massachusetts Stand-Down Committee comprised of various Veterans Service Officers in the area and other service providers she walked table-to-table collecting information. "They need someone who will walk people through," she said of the war veterans returning home. She said there is a definite "lack of information" and support available for those soldiers. She added that veterans such as her son are expected to seek out services but are unable to because "they don't trust the world anymore." After she walked her son through the rows of information tables and service providers at the Stand-Down she said that she was unsure if this would help her son to take action and obtain the services he needed. However, for many soldiers and veterans it is difficult to ask for help as there is a strong stigma attached to seeking mental health services. Thomas Belton Sr., Western Massachusetts Stand-Down Committee member and Vietnam War veteran, said veterans are very "reluctant" to get help and "often do not get the services they need." He added that the stigma attached to seeking mental health services for PTSD is such that the soldier is now considered a "nutcase or ticking time bomb." However, like Belton, Jaime Perez, counselor at the Springfield Vet Center, who returned from his second tour in Iraq last October, said the culture is changing. He said more veterans and active duty military are seeking help. Perez said he believes that his experiences in the field are invaluable in helping others to relate and gain the counseling they need. Many other services were available to those at the Stand-Down last week, not only for active duty military and veterans but their families as well. Steven Connor, director of Veterans' Services for Northampton, Hatfield and Williamsburg, and Western Massachusetts Stand-Down Committee Member, said previously the Stand-Down was only for homeless and needy veterans. However, over the past three years the event has been redefined to include active duty military and their families. James Berrelli, director of the Department of Veterans' Services in West Springfield, Western Massachusetts Stand-Down Committee member and veteran, said services for family members such as the Westover Air Force Base Family Support Center are an important component to the Stand-Down because "if you don't have your family behind you in combat you have a really hard time." Master Sgt. Kimberly Babin, superintendent of the Westover Family Support Center said the center provides families with financial support, deployment packs, counseling and other services so that those serving overseas don't have to worry about their families while they are away. Helen Caulton-Harris, director of the Division of Health and Human Services in Springfield and Western Massachusetts Stand-Down Committee member, said, "Veterans are really the foundation of our nation. For us not to support them would be criminal." She said it is her job to make sure health services, case management, substance abuse outreach and other services are available to those at the Stand-Down. She added that events such as this are vital to letting veterans, active duty military and their families "know that there are services out there and people who care." Bruce Caputo, an Air Force veteran said, "The Stand-Down is very beneficial for veterans because it gives people a chance to talk to people we would not normally come into contact with to obtain services. The knowledge we obtain here is unprecedented." For more information about Veterans' Services call your local Veterans' Service Officer. For more information about the Springfield Vet Center call 737-5167. | ||||||
