texas veterans commission, military veteran peer

MILITARY CULTURE

Your PresenterTim Keesling

Manager, Veterans Mental Health Program

The Military

National Guard

US Army National Guard: 354,200US Air National Guard: 105,400

(http://www.dtic.mil/congressional_budget/pdfs/FY2015_pdfs/MILPER_CRPT-113hrpt446.pdf)

Forging the Warrior from the Civilian

8 to 12 Week Process

Continuous Training for War

Months to 20+ Years

Combat Deployments4mos to 18mos duration: multiple, back-to-back

What about Families?

Accessing Care through the VA

Not so easy…

To keep the following in mind…

First:Safety and

Stabilization

Then:Remembrance and Mourning

Finally:Reconnection

Consider:

For some of us, “a lifetime ago”

happens every day.

The keys to success

• Empathy vs “I understand”• Effective Listening• Creating a Comfort Zone• Non-Judgmental • Stay Calm• Emphasize Hope• Reach out to Resources • Celebrate Success!

Resource Connections:

They, and you, are not alone!

Federal Resources

Veterans Affairs1-800-827-1000

www.va.gov

State Resources

Texas Veterans CommissionTVC Main: (512) 463-5538

TVC Veterans Mental Health: (512) 463-6091

www.tvc.texas.gov

AND

TexVet(512) 341-4924www.texvet.com

Local Resources

Your local Peer Coordinator is: Gregory Morton (210) 685-8716

gmorton@chcsbc.org

MVPN Peer Coordinator: Tish McCullough(210) 286-2960

tish.mccullough@tvc.texas.gov

Texas Veterans Commission Veterans Mental Health Program

Points of Contact

Sean Hanna, Director (512) 784-5154

sean.hanna@tvc.texas.gov

Tim Keesling, Manager(512) 956-3438

tim.keesling@tvc.texas.govor

TVC VMH Program(512) 463-6091

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THANK YOU!