Local

VA launches “The Moment When” campaign for mental health month

TULSA — The statistics on veterans committing suicide have grabbed national headlines, and many vets also struggle with a combination of PTSD, depression, or substance abuse.

That’s the impetus behind a campaign launched in conjunction with Mental Health Month, called “The Moment When.”

[KRMG's Russell Mills speaks with David Lucier and Dr. Christopher Loftis about "The Moment When"]

David Lucier served with the Green Beret, a U.S. Army Special Forces unit, in Vietnam.

"(I) came back, got engaged, started school, and started a job,” he told KRMG.

But he had real trouble connecting with people, and struggled for decades with nightmares, PTSD, and for a time with alcohol abuse.

He says young men and women who enter the military get basic training, and advanced training, before they’re assigned a mission.

"Young men and women coming out of the military need that basic training coming out. They need that advanced training,” Lucier said. “Just like when the military helps you transition in, you need to transition out.”

But all too many veterans have a hard time with that transition.

For him, the “moment when” was a conversation he had with his sister.

“Had one of my younger sisters grab me, and told me very quietly, sincerely and gently that it didn’t have to be this way,” Lucier said.

Dr. Christopher Loftis is the National Director for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs/U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Mental Health Collaboration within the Veterans Health Administration Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.

“Veterans in particular struggle with, I think, isolation and a fear of reaching out and being vulnerable about some of their issues,” he told KRMG Tuesday. “So that’s why this campaign is so inspiring, is it’s got hundreds of stories of veterans and their family members talking about how to reach out, talking about what they’re going through, talking about where to go, what to do.”

He tells KRMG the VA knows that many veterans have never connected with the agency, but hopes they will take the opportunity to connect to one another.

The website is called "Make the Connection."

It also provides information on services available to vets and their families.

Listen

news

weather

traffic

mobile apps

Everything you love about krmg.com and more! Tap on any of the buttons below to download our app.

amazon alexa

Enable our Skill today to listen live at home on your Alexa Devices!