Home Again:Veterans and Families Initiative

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Health | Brains of vets with PTSD can change as they age | Seattle Times Newspaper

SAN FRANCISCO — Combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder are more likely to have dementia, cardiac problems and structural changes in the brain as they get older than veterans without PTSD, according to new research.

The findings, which for the most part resulted from research at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, raise concerns about the overall health of aging veterans, but hold promise for the potential of helping to treat these diseases.

"Our concern is that veterans who honorably serve our country ... are at greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and over the next 10 to 20 years we will see a lot of Alzheimer's in the veteran population,"said Dr. Michael Weiner, director of the institution's Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases.

By VICTORIA COLLIVER

San Francisco Chronicle

Health | Brains of vets with PTSD can change as they age | Seattle Times Newspaper

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Helping Service Members Transition to Life Back Home Read more: http://www.andhranews.net/Business/2011/Helping-Service-Members-Transition-Life-Back-28450.htm#ixzz1QhAicK2Z

(Family Features) Returning home from deployment can be difficult for any service member. Members of the National Guard and Reserve have a unique challenge balancing their military service with civilian life, and returning to a civilian life that does not include those with whom they served can be especially stressful. However, resources like the Real Warriors Campaign are available for service members who are experiencing challenges associated with transition.

Sponsored by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE), the Real Warriors Campaign is a public education initiative designed to encourage service members, veterans, and their families to seek care and treatment for the invisible wounds of war.

ABOUT US

Our mission is to provide education that facilitates an understanding of the military as its own sub-culture to those who serve our nation’s bravest. If you are providing education, housing, employment or clinical care to veterans and their families, you need Home Again. If you are committed to veterans succeeding you must understand their mindset, challenges and the milieu they operate under. Home Again dispels idealizations and myths about the military and focuses on its strengths, values, vocabulary, routines and needs.
Home Again: Veterans and Families Initiative enables providers and others to do their usual work in an enhanced, culturally informed way that places a priority on veterans and military families. We make this happen through education and have trained over 900 community providers such as:

Child protective services

Mental health clinicians

Higher education institutions

Work readiness programs

Our training goes far beyond an introduction to the culture of the military. We address the invisible wounds and hallmarks of the most recent wars. We give you the tools you need to help veterans and their families succeed, reintegrate and get on with their lives. Our training team includes a clinician (with expertise in trauma), and Veteran Peer Advocates who have walked the walk and understand the military experience.