In this series, we highlight those working in the Veteran and Military communities to help make reintegration and life a little better for everyone. We wanted to ask some of the common questions about how they got to where they are and how they inspire others to do more.
Interviewer: Stacey Ebert, Veteran Support Network
(A unique VA program devoted to student veterans and their needs – particularly when transitioning military from civilian/college campuses)
Title in Organization: VITAL Initiative Coordinator
Why Veterans? I feel so lucky to be here at VITAL. My father, a war hero from WWII always led with how he served. He used the first GI Bill and now today's veterans are using the GI Bill. In this, my third career, I find there's so much connection in my life – I have the distinct honor to be able to work to serve exquisite student veterans to help them get the services they so rightly deserve.
What got you interested in this organization (if you started the organization - what inspired you to do so)? I didn’t choose the VA but, even before I knew why, it chose me. Now as a trained psychologist, the VA found me. While initially working in the Suicide Prevention program, I transitioned to to the VITAL Coordinator. As one of the 25 initiatives in the country; my mission at VITAL is to reach as many student veterans across New York City as I can; my goal is to have my program touch as many people as I can so they know that someone at the VA has their back and they know they’re not alone. I am able to help colleges develop veteran friendly campuses and offer for them to take my energy and expertise to use that to help to provide services that will support the veterans. I love working with work study students on varied campuses who refer veterans back to me allowing us to help to grow the VITAL initiative and serve more student veterans.
What got you interested in this organization (if you started the organization - what inspired you to do so)? Dr. Joe Geraci approached me when he had started The Resilience Center at Columbia University. He wanted to figure out how to bring me into The Resilience Center which then allowed me to see student veterans from multiple universities – those students didn’t have to go to the VA to have someone get them connected, access to care, or help them navigate the VA.
What's your favorite thing about working in this field? It's the best job in the VA. I get to work with exceptional people who have had to see/experience terrible things and I am honored and privileged to have their trust and feel that maybe I can make a difference in their lives so that maybe they can heal. Perhaps that’s also part of my own healing. After interacting with various veterans, including a director of the movie Almost Sunrise (a documentary of two veterans, their struggles, and a cross-country healing trek), I started looking into alternative practices (like healing breathing practices ie: power breath) and offering them to my student veterans to share that it’s not only traditional medicine that's available as tools in the coping strategy toolbox. Today, I provide these tools to my work study students so that they can deploy them to the greater community.
How has community service involvement impacted your life? Community service offers me the chance to serve and hope that in some way I can make this a better place through contact, conversation, and crossing a variety of divides.
Why should veterans and families use these services? VITAL is so innovative. We offer an alternative. We build coalitions, work with the community engagement folks at the Suicide Prevention 2.0 VA program, utilize all the resources, and often talk about how we can work together to make the experience of student veterans better. We have the ability to get things done quickly which allows us to provide service to mitigate frustration that often comes with navigating bureaucracy and alleviate some of the stressors that student veterans face. We help change trajectories. We know that veterans who are connected to the VA have less likelihood of suicide. VITAL is a safety net.
What, in your opinion, is the most important thing soon-to-be-Veterans and their families should consider before leaving military service? We need to normalize transition issues; when things feel crazy that’s normal; there are transition issues - the brain has been trained in the military and now it has to go back to learning as a civilian without losing the military experience. We must find a way to weave the military experience into the fabric of who you are as a fabulous person with the incredible skills gained in that first career in the military and help society realize that we'll all be better off if we can help veterans transition to actualize their unique gifts.