Real Talk: Mental Health

By Hope Phifer, Cohen Veterans Network

The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at VVSD, San Diego www.vvsd.net/cohenclinics

Supporting Military Families: It Takes Teamwork

In case you were wondering, military families STILL need our support.

Yes, military families are resilient – a word that has become an automatic reference when speaking about military families – as they are often faced with the need to adapt to changing circumstances. But put aside the “typical” challenges of military families, like deployments, reintegration and PCS moves, and add on the past two plus years, which have been marked by additional hurdles exacerbated by COVID-19. Yes, we are STILL talking about the “pandemic.”

A report released last year called, “Measuring Our Communities: The State of Military and Veteran Families in the United States,” analyzed the status of American military and veteran families across nine themes, including employment, housing, K–12 and postsecondary education and behavioral health. Among the challenges facing military and veteran families were educational setbacks for military children, homelessness, employment challenges, food insecurity, suicide and lack of access to mental health resources.

Our military families need us now more than ever.

Thankfully, The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinics located across the nation as part of Cohen Veterans Network, have been a mainstay for this population, filling the gaps in care since 2016 when the network was formed. Not only have the Cohen Clinics provided high-quality, accessible mental health care – both in person and via CVN Telehealth, face-to-face video therapy – they have also provided case management support to veterans, service members and their families, focusing on meeting the needs of our military community to improve their quality of life with local resource connection in the following areas:

• Caregiver Support

• Child Care

• Education

• Employment

• Legal Assistance

• Military Transitions

• Peer Support

• Personal Finances

• Recreation

• Wellness, Health, Nutrition, Exercise

• Rehabilitation, Occupation and/or Physical Therapies

The best part? The clinics are having a significant impact on military families. Clients from across the Network share their experiences:

“Our family was broken. Our marriage, relationship with kid and life. She (therapist) saved my family. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

“Amazing! I’ve been given tools that have already improved my life so much!!”

“I’ve been able to have all my sessions from the comfort of my own home – and that has been a positive for me.”

While the clinics are making a difference day in and day out, there is still much work to be done. Supporting our military families requires teamwork.

In 2021, the Cohen Clinic at VVSD, San Diego, brought together several community partners to put words of support into action to help military families. The clinic created its first “We Our Mil” drive-through family event, which was dedicated to celebrating and supporting military families. This free event was designed to give back to Southern California’s military community during April’s Month of the Military Child. Especially at a time when military families had been even more isolated from necessary resources.

As part of the event, various veteran and military focused organizations stacked hands to create a drive through maze in the parking lot of National University’s Spectrum campus in San Diego where hundreds of local military families received free giveaways and resources, including fresh produce and non-perishable food items, children’s books, and more. Participating organizations included Feeding San Diego, United Through Reading, Veterans Village of San Diego, National University, USO San Diego, Wounded Warrior Project, San Diego Loyal, Foundation for Women Warriors, AARP California, The Phoenix and Girls onthe Run.

This year, the San Diego clinic is in its 3rd year of hosting this signature event, scheduled for Friday, April 21 and its sister Cohen Clinic in Oceanside will follow suit by hosting a similar inaugural event the following Friday, April 28 for that community, which is located close to Camp Pendleton.

What more can we do collectively to support our military families? Is there something we can do with our neighbors, with our colleagues? Let us continue to stack hands in support of those who have sacrificed so much for our country.

To learn more about the “We Our Mil” drive-through family events in Southern California, visit vvsd.net/cohenclinics

San Diego Veterans Magazine caught up with Brian Taylor, Doctor of Audiology and Senior Director of Audiology for Signia.