Mental Healthcare for NJ's Veterans

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, PTSD afflicts up to one in five veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan in a given year and as many as one in three veterans from earlier conflicts, like Vietnam, during their lifetimes. This panel of four leaders in mental health care will look at how we provide care to veterans and the ways we can improve. This program will delve into the specific obstacles veterans face and how organizations are providing counseling, housing programs and education to our nation’s heroes. This panel features veterans who work one-on-one with fellow veterans and community members who, through their organizations, strive to bring the life-long mental health challenges veterans face to light. Guests include Steve Margeotes, Ph.D., L.P.C., A.C.S., Executive Director, Main St. Counseling; J. Michael Armstrong, M.A., M.B.A., CEO of Community Hope; Tim Arora, L.S.W., Veteran & Program Coordinator, Operation Veterans to Social Workers, Family Connections, and Patricia Findley, Associate Professor, School of Social Work at Rutgers University.

2/3/18 #3033

 

 

 

 

Excerpt:

"Welcome to Caucus. I'm Steve Adubato. Joining me today in the studio to discuss mental healthcare for veterans, what we're doing right, and the ways we can improve. We are joined by, Tim Arora, Program Coordinator for Operation Veterans to Social Workers at Family Connections, Doctor Patricia Findley, Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, Michael Armstrong, CEO of Community Hope, and finally, back again with us... Thank you. ...because you're that good, Doctor Steve Margeotes, Executive Director of Main Street Counseling. I want to thank you all for joining us. We're... Thank you. Thank you for having us. Thank you. It is great to have you Michael, and everyone here. We're doing this series that really looks at veterans, the services that are out there, what veterans need, how to access those services, so you're gonna see a website up, different websites up, from different organizations, because we are attempting to be that conduit to get that important information out there. Steve, when we talk about mental health issues, or mental health for veterans, first, what kinds of issues are veterans facing? And are they different from the rest of us who are dealing with some issues? Actually, they're not. I think you're dealing with anxiety. I think you're dealing with depression. I think you're dealing with access to care. And some of the frustrations in the past have evolved... "How do I get access to care?" The veterans we're seeing at Main Street are coming in, no different than other clients. You know. By the way, describe your place. I want to make sure everybody knows Main Street. Main Street Counseling Center is a nonprofit mental health center that I started in 1980. We're going on four decades now. And our key mission, Steve, has always been access to mental healthcare. No catchment areas. We're open at night. What does that mean? Catchment areas? We're not..."