Military veterans can help other veterans beat addiction
BY JOHN LAUINGER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Sunday, November 30th 2008, 8:37 PM
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Mental distress from the rigors of military service and the horrors of combat can lead veterans to abuse drugs and alcohol.
But those same experiences also make veterans ideally suited to helping other veterans beat drug and alcohol addictions, experts and local veterans say.
"There is just such a mutual understanding that develops by having been in the same shoes," said James McDonough, director of the state Division of Veterans Affairs.
With soldiers continuing to return from Iraq and Afghanistan with substance abuse problems, a nonprofit group with counseling centers in Queens and Brooklyn is aiming to help more veterans become certified counselors.
The Outreach Project is one of the first groups to apply for state funding that would provide scholarships for military veterans to train as drug and alcohol abuse counselors, said David Greenberg of the Outreach Project.
"We hope that veterans don't come home with these problems, but the reality is that they do," said Greenberg, who is leading the agency's effort to train veterans to become state-certified counselors.
Among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who received care from the federal Veterans Affairs Department between 2001 and 2005, one in five had substance abuse problems and almost a third had mental health problems, a recent federal study found.
The Outreach Project offers training for counselors at its offices in Richmond Hill, Queens; Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and on Long Island.
It is waiting for word from the state on its application for the funding. The scholarships would pay for the $4,450 training course, which lasts 11 months and prepares individuals for state certification.
The agency also provides job placement services.
Ervin Rogers, an Army veteran from East Flatbush, Brooklyn, is among a handful of veterans already pursuing counselor certification at the Outreach Project.
He said the scholarship would be "a great opportunity for veterans" to secure employment, and said veterans would be more effective at getting through to fellow veterans.
"If there's one thing I've found, it's that veterans are very iffy on who they trust, given their experiences," said Rogers, 48, who served in the military after Vietnam.
"Those who come home from Afghanistan and Iraq are more apt to trust another veteran."
jlauinger@nydailynews.com
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Been there and have this T shirt, bottom line is the veterans are not going to listen to anyone until they are ready to admit they have a problem, and for most it is not until they have hit bottom and have lost everything they cared about, their home, their family and their jobs. Some are able to get it back together, but many don't. Then when they realize how bad they are then they might talk and listen and try to clean it up, and then move on and create a new life for themselves.....
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Military veterans can help other veterans beat addiction
