Faith Community Comes Together to Help Military Families
Posted 05/15/2009
Faith leaders from the various denominations throughout El Paso County converged on El Pomar’s Penrose House on Thursday, May 14, to learn how they can help military families fighting personal battles with combat stress disorders.
The Faith Community Education Collaborative, a group of representatives from area churches, military and veteran organizations, and First Choice Counseling Center Program Manager Brian Duncan, organized the event. The objective was to help faith leaders recognize signs and symptoms of combat stress disorders and inform them of available community resources where the members of their congregations can seek help.
A common theme of Thursday’s event is the faith community is “uniquely positioned” to help soldiers that, because of stigma and fear of jeopardizing their careers, are not bringing mental health concerns to their military supervisors.
Maj. Gen. Mark Graham (right) pointed out during his portion of the event that more than 70 percent of Fort Carson’s 18,000 soldiers live off base and are more likely to seek spiritual guidance in the civilian community.
“Soldiers are coming forward … one soldier at a time … one family at a time,” Graham said.
Graham and his wife, Carol, lost one son to suicide and another to the war in Iraq. Several years later, Graham said, he still wakes up hoping it is all a bad dream.
Graham said his son’s suicide, which came after he stopped taking prescribed medications, has been incredibly difficult from the beginning. “We blamed ourselves for not recognizing the warning signs,” he said, adding that they were naive to think that depression could be solved with prayer, proper eating habits and a good night’s sleep.
Marshele Waddell, a local author and wife of a Navy Seal who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD), spoke about the problems that come back from the battlefield with soldiers. They don’t have to be permanently affixed, she said.
“There is a lie that a veteran's permanent address is in the 'valley of the shadow of death,' ” she said.
Other speakers on Thursday, including Alison Lighthall, a deployment specialist at Fort Carson, and Col. Andrew Meverden, state chaplain of the Colorado National Guard, explained how to recognize PTSD and traumatic brain injury (TBI) as well as their secondary effects: substance abuse, domestic violence, suicidal and homicidal ideation, and addiction to pornography.
Faith leaders also learned how to approach and dialogue with those suspected of having combat stress disorders. And most importantly, attendees were educated on the available resources in the military and civilian communities where members of their congregations can get the proper treatment for their mental health problems.
“One of the tragedies of Vietnam is we didn’t reach out to those in need,” said Dr. John Stevens, pastor emeritus of First Presbyterian Church. “What we do today will have great impact tomorrow.”
The May 14 workshop was the second of three planned for the faith community. The last workshop is slated to be held in September.
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