It takes a community to welcome home the warrior
The community must be whole and well for the welcome to be effective
War-related trauma affects everyone who serves, not just those with direct combat experience. Its shockwaves radiate across individual, family, community and culture; body, mind, and spirit. Repeated trauma can unravel veterans’ connections with their families, peers, and communities – as well as within themselves. The community plays a critically important role in repairing and renewing broken connections.
The Coming Home Project is a San Francisco-based non-profit 501(c)(3) organization committed to alleviating the unseen injuries of war faced by veterans and their families. We promote wellbeing across the deployment cycle and provide support for successful reintegration into civilian life. Coming Home builds a living community where veterans come together to reintegrate with their families, peers, and communities – and within themselves. At our residential retreats, they share stories, struggles and accomplishments, practice meditation, yoga and qigong, enjoy expressive arts like journaling and movement, and recreational activities like kayaking and hiking, as they connect with services and resources in their communities, all in beautiful, serene settings. Our workshops are not psychotherapy, but they are therapeutic. Driven by peer support, they are facilitated by experienced psychotherapists, trained veterans, family members, and chaplains.
We also provide self-care retreats and resilience training for healthcare providers who serve veterans and in military treatment facilities such as Walter Reed and VA’s around the country. These programs alleviate and prevent burnout and compassion fatigue, helping to ensure continuity of services
By: Craig Newmark
http://govinthelab.com/welcoming-our-veterans-home-%E2%80%93-unseen-injuries-and-the-power-of-community/
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