Have questions about peer wellness checks, resiliency, referrals, or crisis intervention? Ask Questions and Share Insights Now!

THANKS FOR SHARING

Thanks for sharing.

Good evening. Excellent post. Thank You for sharing this on RP.

When it comes to resources when conducting buddy checks or peer wellness checks please know there are various resources to share. Here are some to help:
• Veterans Crisis Line http://www.veteranscrisisline.net
• Veterans Crisis Line Chat http://www.veteranscrisisline.net/get-help-now/chat
• Vet Center http://www.vetcenter.va.gov
• National Resource Directory http://www.nrd.gov
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline - formerly "Suicide Prevention Lifeline" http://www.988lifeline.org
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIH) http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/suicide-prevention American Foundation for Suicide Prevention http://www.afsp.org/suicide-prevention-resources/
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) http://www.cdc.gov/suicide/resources/index.html
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) http://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/988
• International (links and resources for suicide prevention) http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327007#international-hotlines-and-resources

We just held a webinar kicking off Buddy Check week and had a few good pointers come through:

- The scripts do help but let everything come from the heart. I have a Vietnam Veteran that has had a rough year, lost his life partner of 30+ years, and then lost everything to recent flooding in our areas. Just reach out to them, be their friend and just be there for them. Just talking to them works wonders. I now talk to this veteran daily. Just to talk about anything and everything.

- Coming from a rural state (South Dakota)-- your County Veteran Service Officers are a great resource for anything that your local post isn't familiar with regarding benefits. We're usually pretty in tune with local resources.

- This week is not just about veterans, we encourage outreach to veterans, caregivers, and survivors since we know it’s not just about the veteran but about their families, support systems, and even providers.

- This initiative doesn’t need to focus on just mental health, but overall health and stability. Some issues plaguing the veteran and surrounding communities are unemployment, food insecurity, education difficulties, filing claims, and financial burden. During your reach out sessions we encourage you to ask about some of these areas, you may be able to provide resources to that individual that they didn’t know about

Hello all, I am Carla Stumpf Patton with Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), where I oversee our suicide prevention and postvention programming. We are here to offer peer-based grief support and suicide postvention response for those who have been impacted by military-related suicide loss. For those needing to talk or with questions about grief and loss, we have the TAPS National Military Survivor Helpline available 24/7 at [login to see] .

Hello All, My name is Christopher Vidaurre, I am the Senior Program Manager at the George W. Bush Institute. I am here on behalf of the Veterans Wellness Alliance to share “Check-In” Check-In is a first-of-its-kind network that unites peer-led organizations and mental and brain health service providers to connect veterans and their families with high-quality care for mental and brain health services. Please go to veterancheckin.org and fill out our short form to get connected to care. Once you fill out the form within in 72 business hours our Care Coordinator will reach out to you and find the most appropriate care and get you connected. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. Thank you.

https://www.veterancheckin.org

I check in often with my fallen brother's fellow battle buddies from his Engineering unit deployed together from Alaska to Afghanistan on their FB group for updates and let them know mom and I appreciate them and are always family.

1-800-MyVA411 is a national, toll-free number that serves as a “front door” to VA. With one phone call, Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors can easily access information on VA benefits and services or be connected to an expert for answers to question.

Thanks to everyone that's joining in! If you have any questions please post them below and our esteemed Subject Matter Experts will answer them. Thank you all for being apart of National Buddy Check Week. For more information on Buddy Check Week please see the link here: https://www.va.gov/initiatives/national-buddy-check-week-talk-to-10-veterans/