If military practice tells soldiers that their emotions of love and grief – which are inseparable from their humanity – do not matter, then the civilian society that has sent them to fight on their behalf should not be shocked by their “inhumanity” when they try to return to civilian life.  Dr. Jonathan Shay (p. 67, ACHILLES IN VIETNAM)

Resources for Veterans

Supportive People, Places, and Programs We Know and Like

 

  • A Better Welcome Home for Veterans – This is a YouTube playlist from the Harvard Kennedy School website made up of more than two dozen very brief (less than ten minutes) videos from the “A Better Welcome Home” conference Paula Caplan organized in 2011. Each video is a no-nonsense approach to helping veterans and/or their families, and each includes contact information for the contributor plus about three different ways that ANYONE can help with that particular approach.
  • Backpacks for Life – Helps homeless veterans find jobs and housing. Donates backpacks full of daily essentials for survival.
  • BoulderCrest – Retreat centers in Virginia and Arizona committed to improving the emotional, physical, spiritual, and financial well-being of combat veterans, their families, and first responders.
  • Cammies and Canines –  Makes and sells collars, leashes and toys for dogs.  Proceeds feed homeless veterans and provide them with new socks, a new t-shirt, and hygiene necessities.  Offers dog walking and (coming soon) a doggy daycare sanctuary.  (Kalani Creutzburg, Founder)
  • Chaplain Care for Veterans – Spiritual and emotional support for veterans, currently serving, and their family and friends–whoever you are, whatever you believe, wherever you are.
  • Combat Flip Flops – Creates peaceful, forward-thinking opportunities for self-determined entrepreneurs affected by conflict. “Business, Not Bullets”–Combat Flip Flops flips the view on how wars are won. Through persistence, respect, and creativity, they empower the mindful consumer to manufacture peace through trade. (Matthew Griffin, Co-Founder)
  • Coming Home Collaborative – An open and growing volunteer association of people dedicated to improving the re-integration of veterans and communities.  This site offers a number of essays on military discernment and links to other literature.  (Amy Blumenshine, Diaconal Minister ELCA)
  • David Lynch Foundation – The David Lynch Foundation provides Transcendental Meditation to those who need it most, including students and veterans who suffer from acute levels of trauma and toxic stress in their lives.
  • DICE Career Fairs –  The premier producer of career fairs catering to technology, engineering and security-cleared professionals in the United States. With more than 90 events held every year, they target the top national markets to help match businesses and recruiters with the best candidates. As a leading career fair company for 27 years, Targeted Job Fairs is a one-stop, full-service solution for planning, coordinating, promoting and implementing successful career fairs.
  • Farmer Veteran Coalition –  Cultivates a new generation of farmers and food leaders, and develops viable employment and meaningful careers through the collaboration of the farming and military communities.
  • Fisher House – Provides military families housing close to a loved one during hospitalization for an illness, disease or injury.
  • Healing Warrior Hearts – No-cost healing programs for both veterans and veteran spouses. (Patricia Clason, Founder)
  • Heroes on the Water –  To help warriors relax, rehabilitate and reintegrate through kayak fishing and the outdoors.  (Craig Shelton, Program Coordinator)
  • Holistic Veterans – Works with veterans to cultivate and nurture pathways to self-sustaining practices that help them live harmoniously within themselves, towards others, and within nature. (Paul Damon, Founder and Organizer)
  • Institute for Healing of Memories – Provides emotional and spiritual healing to people recovering from painful or traumatic experiences through Healing of Memories (HOM) workshops and public presentations. (Amy Blumenshine, Diaconal Minister ELCA)
  • Listen to a Veteran – “Open your ears. Open a heart.” Paula Caplan, Author of When Johnny and Jane Come Marching Home. Listeners are not therapists, and – except for speaking two sentences – they truly do nothing but listen. However, they do so with 100% of their attention and their whole hearts. This model works beautifully
  • Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance – “Our goal is to raise awareness of mesothelioma– an aggressive yet preventable cancer.
    We put great focus on reaching veterans as 30% of all Americans with mesothelioma cancer are veterans who were unknowingly exposed to asbestos while on active duty.”
  • Mike Orban: Author of Souled Out: Conquering Combat PTSD, Michael Orban is a nationally recognized speaker on healing from the experiences of war. As a Vietnam combat veteran, he gained his insights the hard way: through his own personal experience.
  • Mind and Body Treatment and Research Institute – The Resiliency Challenge is a free, comprehensive, 12 week online course that offers a daily meditation, as well as guided instruction on exactly how to manage your thoughts and feelings. (Dr. Keerthy Sunder, author of Addictions: Face Your Addiction and Save Your Life. Principal Scientific Investigator for an FDA Study on PTSD in returning War Veterans in Riverside, California.)
  • Military Outdoors: Military Outdoors organizes outdoor trips for veterans, other service members and their families, because we know that time spent in nature provides a unique experience to foster mental and physical health, emotional resiliency, and leadership development. For many veterans, spending time in the outdoors can also help ease the transition to civilian life.
  • Montserrat Corsino Integrative Acupuncture – Montserrat Corsino provides a holistic approach to pain management. She incorporates gentle acupuncture, massage, nutritional counseling, herbal medicine, supplements, and lifestyle coaching for optimal health. Now accepting veteran patients with medical authorization.
  • Motorcycle Relief Project – Based in Colorado, this organization serves combat veterans with PTSD and other injuries through multi-day motorcycle adventures that help them decompress and move toward recovery.
  • National Association of Veterans Program Administrators – An organization of institutions and individuals who are involved or interested in the operation of veterans’ affairs programs and/or the delivery of services to veterans as school certifying officials across the country. Assessment and attainment of individual needs, communicating and cooperating with communities, schools, agencies and organizations at the local, state, regional and federal levels; developing productive relations with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Department of Education, Department of Defense, and other federal or national Veterans Service Organization or agency serving veterans; participating in efforts to facilitate the education and/or training of educationally or otherwise disadvantaged veterans; and promoting cooperative studies, research, evaluation, workshops, seminars, conferences, and other activities.
  • National Veterans Foundation –  The nation’s only toll-free, vet-to-vet helpline for all veterans and their families.  Public awareness programs.  Outreach services that provide veterans and families in need with food, clothing, transportation, employment and other essential resources.
  • Operation First Response – Serves all branches of our nation’s Wounded Heroes/Disabled Veterans and their families with personal and financial needs.
  • Operation Ray of Light – Provides a place for veterans and their families in Sanford, Maine to drop in, have a coffee and chat. Also provides comprehensive emotional support, resource development, support groups for veterans and their families, PTSD education and veteran suicide prevention support.
  • Pets for Vets – Dedicated to supporting veterans and providing a second chance for shelter pets by rescuing, training and pairing them with America’s veterans who could benefit from a companion animal.
  • Purple Star Veterans and Families – Offers transition tools and resources, and programs to address and reduce the alarmingly high rate of Veteran suicide.
  • REBOOT Combat Recovery – A 12 week course that serves the entire family. Many locations will provide a meal and childcare. After completing the REBOOT trauma healing course, graduates advance to focus on rebuilding strong character, engaging in healthy community and reclaiming leadership roles. REBOOT upholds the “teach a man to fish” ideal and equips our members to move past REBOOT and live an abundant life.

Members of Charlie Company of the First Marine Division, 8th Regiment, tend to a comrade wounded by sniper fire as they tried to advance on the Janabi Mosque in Fallujah, Iraq, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2004. (AP Photo/Los Angeles Times, Luis Sinco)

  • Recruit Military – Helps organizations excel by attracting, appreciating and retaining America’s best talent, its veterans. They have been doing this for 16 years. RecruitMilitary works.
  • RehabCenter.net – Offers inpatient rehab programs for individuals suffering with substance disorders.
  • San Francisco Veterans Film Festival – A robust forum for Veterans to express their creativity and to share their stories, which in turn helps further healing and brings greater awareness to the public on the challenges our nation’s Veterans face. The festival spotlights both Veteran and civilian filmmakers addressing issues about Veterans and military-related topics.
  • Silent Warrior Project – A proven new way of healing veterans suffering from PTSD, based on the principle of mindfulness meditation and the power of fellowship.
  • Snake Bloomstrand – coach, mentor, workshop facilitator.
  • Soldier’s Heart – Family retreats, workshops, trainings, educational programs, journeys, and lectures for homecoming and reintegration. (Psychotherapists Dr. Edward Tick, PhD, and Kate Dahlstedt, M.A.)
  • TentED –  Implements small-scale projects in partnership with existing and emergent aid programs.  Rapidly delivers the ingredients of a quality education – “last-mile” essentials that include school supplies, seasonal clothing, bus transportation, and recreational activities.  (Zack Bazzi, Co-founder and Executive Director)
  • The American S.T.A.R.H. Foundation – To help reduce and eradicate the suicide rate of post-9/11 veterans and military personnel by providing a structured format of assistance, whereby the maximum amount of stability and self-sufficiency can be achieved for veterans, and their families through the Seven Steps Of Stability.
  • The Coffee Bunker – Tulsa’s only peer run drop-in center.  Provides a family friendly, alcohol-free and drug free facility for veterans and their families to get together, use computers, access Wi-Fi, enjoy games and group activities, watch TV or movies and just hang out.
  • The Mission Continues – Empowers veterans who are adjusting to life at home to find purpose through community impact. Deploys veterans on new missions in their communities, so that their actions will inspire future generations to serve.
  • The Soul Repair Center – Dedicated to research and public education about recovery from moral injury.  (Rev. Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock, Professor of Theology and Culture, co-author of Soul Repair: Recovering from Moral Injury after War)
  • The Station Foundation –  Offers specialized transition and reintegration of Special Operations Forces.
  • Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors – Offers compassionate care to all those grieving the loss of a loved one who died while serving in our Armed Forces or as a result of his or her service.  Also conducts regional survivor seminars for adults and youth programs at locations across the country, as well as retreats and expeditions around the world. Staff can get you connected to counseling in your community and help navigate benefits and resources.
  • Veterans Empowered to Protect African Wildlife – Provides meaningful employment to post-9/11 veterans, utilizing their expertise to train and support Africa’s anti-poaching rangers to prevent the extermination of keystone African wildlife, and the disastrous economic and environmental impact it would have.
  • Veterans Guide – Assists veterans with the array of issues they may face, including obtaining proper disability compensation, financial assistance, information on the GI bill, and more. We have created some helpful guides and will continuously be adding more.
  • VA Loans Guide – The ConsumerAffairs VA Loans Guide was created to give active and veteran military key benefits when it comes to buying a home. The guide reviews several VA loan lenders and answers frequently asked questions. The resource has been helpful for US Military members who are looking to purchase a home.
  • Veterans Path – Enables returning veterans to rediscover meaning, purpose, and joy in their lives through mindfulness, meditation, and a safe community.
  • Veterans for Peace – An international organization made up of military veterans, military family members, and allies. We accept veteran members from all branches of service. We are dedicated to building a culture of peace, exposing the true costs of war, and healing the wounds of war.
  • Veterans Return Garden – The Veterans Return Garden is designed by architect Anthony Lawlor to honor and support each stage of a soldier’s ceremony of transition from active duty to civilian life. It is not a memorial to those who died in battle, but a revitalizing place structured to facilitate the transformation from battlefield to community.
  • Vets Truth Commission – Dedicated to educating the wider public on the topic of moral injury.  (Rev. Dr. Gabriella Lettini, Dean of Faculty, Director of studies at the Starr King School for the Ministry, co-author of Soul Repair: Recovering from Moral Injury after War)
  • Warrior Camp – Assists traumatized individuals to connect with trauma-related resources, including therapists with advanced training.  Warrior Camp’s goal is to prevent suicide, to enhance resilience and to support force preservation.
  • Warrior Canine Connection – Utilizes a Mission Based Trauma Recovery model to help recovering Warriors reconnect with life, their families, their communities, and each other. Warriors interact with dogs from birth through adulthood, training these dogs to act as service dogs for wounded Warriors. Warrior Trainers benefit from the animal-human connection, while wounded Warriors receive the support that a service dog can provide.
  • Warriors on the Way – Plans a Veterans Pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago (Spain) annually (in 2018: September) designed to put those with PTSD and Moral Injury on the Path to Healing. There is an application process. If the application is approved, the organization covers the cost of the pilgrimage for the veteran.
  • Warriors That Farm – Teaching and mobilizing veterans in the art, science and business aspects of sustainable family farming.
  • Wellness Works – A non-profit community resource in Glendale, CA that provides training, education and treatments for self-healing in an atmosphere of compassion and joy.
  • Your Sequel – A Networking and Mentoring Platform for Female Veterans.