As Troops Come Home, Some May Suffer from Hidden Wounds
July 06, 2011
WELLESLEY HILLS, MA -- July 6, 2011 – As 10,000 troops come home from war this September and 20,000 more by next summer, for most homecoming will mark the beginning of a smooth transition into daily life. However for some, the relief of arriving home safe will eventually fade and a new inner struggle may begin.
Realizing battle wounds can be more than skin deep; Military Pathways is commemorating National Depression Screening Day (NDSD) this October 6th. NDSD gives military installations the opportunity to raise awareness about depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and enables service members and their families to identify depression and PTSD early and connect with local support services.
To help your military community participate, Military Pathways has put together a FREE NDSD kit that includes:
• A “how to” guide of best practices for implementing and promoting a successful event
• Posters, wallet cards and give away items to promote your event
• Private, confidential self-screening forms for up to 500 participants and scoring instructions (Spanish kits contain materials for up to 50 participants)
• Educational materials that cover a wide variety of topics such as resiliency, combat stress and reintegration
“The tools in the National Depression Screening Day kit enabled us to create an open and honest space where service men and women could speak honestly about the different emotions they were feeling,” says Mr. Robert St. Jacques, a family readiness support assistant, at Fort Eustis in VA. “As a result, a young soldier who was preparing for his fourth deployment talked openly about troubling combat memories he was struggling with. If we hadn’t held an NDSD event, this soldier never would have gotten the help he needed.”
Since 2006, more than 1,000 military installations worldwide have used the NDSD kit materials and more than 200,000 service members and their families have taken a mental health screening by visiting www.MilitaryMentalHealth.org.
Although NDSD is observed on October 6th, military installations can hold NDSD events throughout the year. To register for a free NDSD program kit, visit http://www.militarymentalhealth.org/register/, call 781.239.0071 or email military@mentalhealthscreening.org.
About Military Pathways:
Military Pathways gives service personnel and their families the opportunity to learn more about mental health and alcohol use through anonymous self-assessments offered online and through events held at DoD installations. The program is designed to help individuals self-identify symptoms confidentially and determine whether they should access assistance before a problem becomes serious. The self-assessments address alcohol use, PTSD, depression, generalized anxiety disorder and bipolar disorder. After completing a self-assessment, individuals receive information on options to self-refer for care, such as through Tricare, Military OneSource and the Veterans Health Administration. The program is run by the nonprofit Screening for Mental Health® and is fully funded by Force Health Protection and Readiness, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Health Affairs.
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