More than 400 human service professionals gathered last month in Indianapolis, where they learned how to better help military members and their families who have experienced an extended combat deployment.
Battlemind to Home III Symposium, held at the Indianapolis Marriott East, was aimed at increasing community awareness about support services available to service members and their families. It is the result of an ongoing partnership between the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center, the Department of Labor, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Military Family Research Institute (MFRI) at Purdue University.
Participants, including mental health providers, social workers, psychologists, employment specialists and health workers, attended information-packed sessions at no charge. They received breakfast, lunch, and a one-night stay at the Marriott free and were awarded continuing education units. Presentations focused on psychosocial issues, deployment, and challenges that military members and their families face due to prolonged separations.
Army Colonel (Dr.) Kenneth Lee offered a moving keynote. He gave a detailed account of his own personal experience recovering from an injury sustained after a suicide bomber attacked his convoy near Baghdad International Airport, and emphasized the importance of convincing military members to recognize and seek help for the symptoms of “invisible wounds.” Lee called family members the true casualties of war, because they live with the consequences of such wounds.
Other presentations examined issues such as employment, spirituality and the unique challenges faced by members of gay, lesbian and bisexual members of the military and their families. Participants engaged on Twitter using #B2H3.
“Battlemind to Home continues to be an important learning opportunity for those in Indiana who work with, and on behalf of, veterans,”; said Martina Sternberg, assistant director of MFRI. “For the second year, MFRI has partnered with the VA and Department of Labor in an effort to reduce community reintegration barriers for returning service members and their families. We want to increase available supports from a collaborative and holistic perspective, and set a gold standard for other communities who seek to do the same.”
Last year, more than 250 people attended the well-received Battlemind to Home II Symposium, which focused on similar topics, including the relationship of combat trauma to ongoing substance use and treatment; the challenges faced by veterans and service members as they return to campus; and issues such as suicide and chronic pain. It also featured the personal story of a veteran who suffered severe combat injury in Iraq. This year’s symposium featured veterans’ personal stories as well, and honored Gold Star mother Becky Johnson, whose son, Staff Sergeant Gary Lee Woods, Jr., was killed in Iraq.