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Mobile Vet Center visits southern Illinois KARL BULLOCK Daily Egyptian When veterans need help and a Veterans Affairs facility is far from home, having a mobile center makes access easier for them. Mobile Vet Centers travel to raise awareness for soldiers in rural areas as part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs readjustment counseling service. The centers are community-based and strive to provide a broad range of counseling, outreach and referral services to eligible veterans in order to help them make a satisfying post-war adjustment to civilian life, according to the DVA website. The recreational vehicles provide Veterans with services such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder counseling and Military Sexual Trauma, bereavement counseling, marriage and family counseling and VA resource information for jobs and education opportunities, according to the website. David Cozart, Region 2 MVC coordinator, said many soldiers who return after deployment overseas can be in denial about the help they need regarding stress. “We recognize that even though soldiers may know they need help, they’re in denial as far as getting help and getting those services,� he said. Joseph Clark, a military recruiter out of Carbondale and an Iraqi War vet, said the level of difficulty with integrating back into society depends on the veteran’s experience and its severity during their tour of duty. Clark said from his personal experience the Marine Corps would conduct counseling practices before they left their tour of duty, so the soldiers knew what to expect when they returned to the U.S. “We generally had an idea of what to expect before we even came home, what to avoid and the different people we could talk to for assistance,� he said. Vincent McEnerney, a Vietnam veteran, said any program that helps veterans adapt back into their environment is important. He said veterans have to realize they need to take advantage of the resources available to them. “I know they give orientation when they get out, but not many follow through because they’re young,� he said. “They feel they’re still invincible.� Cozart said an important aspect of the counseling services is to avoid the feel of it being just another clinical appointment. He said the centers do not want the veterans to get the idea that they are just a patient because it may indicate that no one really cares. “You don’t approach them clinically off the bat where someone gives them medicine and they keep moving,� he said. “You’re
STEVE MATZKER | DAILY EGYPTIAN
Christina Finn, of Chicago, pets Pharaoh Saturday in front of the Mobile Vet Center during a tailgating party outside Saluki Stadium. The mobile center is part of the Department of Veterans Affairs and provides outreach opportunities to veterans. Timothy Ogier, of St. Louis and a readjustment counselor for the East St. Louis Vet Center, said they were there to promote
the mobile veteran center. “As much outreach as we do,� Ogier said. “We’re one of the best kept secrets.� Finn, who is president of the Department of Illinois Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, exhibited a movable wall of all Illinois military personnel who have received a Purple Heart since the beginning of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars.
concerned about them and their families because if you show empathy towards their families you get the veteran’s attention.� Veterans Helping Veterans is another method to help soldiers open up to counseling and cope with stress, Cozart said. “It helps and makes it easier for them to talk to you because they know for a fact you’ve been in the mud, the grit and the grime,� he said. “You’re not out here only hearing or reading about it but took part and played a vital role.� Clark said receiving help from another individual who has served shows the soldier he or she is not alone.
“It’s not always the fact that someone is trying to help them, it’s that you respect them,� he said. “It’s a little bit easier to get respect because you know they’ve done some of the same things you’ve done.� Cozart said when people bring military experience to share with veterans they will ultimately listen. “They now look at you as he’s doing alright, so evidently what he went through (counseling) works,� he said.
Karl Bullock can be reached at kbullock@dailyegyptian.com or 536-3311 ext. 259.
Campus conflicts affect community businesses ELI MILEUR Daily Egyptian Local business owners are watching the unfolding labor conflict at the university with a close eye because it may have consequences for their own success. “SIU’s the biggest factory in town,� said Elaine Ramseyer, general manager of Longbranch Coffeehouse. Ramseyer said she doesn’t have numbers but would guess a large portion of her customers are somehow related to the university. More than a year into so-farunsuccessful contract negotiations with administration, four campus unions have voted to authorize strikes. While this doesn’t mean there will necessarily be a strike, it is the last legal step toward one. “I don’t think a strike will have a
good affect on the community as a whole from a business standpoint,� said Randy Johnson, general manager of 710 Bookstore. “I would hope they can get a resolution to this without a strike because I think it’s very bad timing.� The current conflict on campus is tied to a broader spending problem in society, Ramseyer said. Projects such as Saluki Way have moved forward while contracts and salaries are still a problem, which indicates a lack of financial foresight and prioritizing, she said. “To build a stadium when you can’t pay salaries is an injustice,� she said. Ramseyer said she isn’t optimistic that the situation will be resolved smoothly. “I have a feeling it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better,� she said. In addition to the labor disputes, SIUC enrollment has declined for
seven years. As a business particularly tied to the success of the university, Johnson said 710 Bookstore is always aware of what’s happening on campus. “If you live and function in a college town, what happens at that college has a direct affect on you and everybody around you,� he said. “Our revenue is directly related to, first of all, the enrollment at the university, but even more than the enrollment, just the overall success of the university.� Recruitment efforts will be affected by what’s happening on campus, he said. “Anything that becomes a major media issue has an effect on your ability to go recruit,� he said. “I don’t buy the thing any publicity is good publicity.� Tuff Luck Tattoos has also experienced the effect of the university’s
problems, artist Jimmy King said. “This year’s been weird,� he said. He said Tuff Luck typically sees an influx of customers during the fall, but this year has been different. Given the issues on campus, he said it’s understandable if students aren’t coming to the university like they have before. “What parents are going to want to send their kids down here with that going on?� he said. Prospective students probably wouldn’t be concerned about the labor dispute, but their parents might be, said Scott Thorne, owner of Castle Perilous Games. Castle Perilous has actually seen an increase in business during the last several years, Thorne said. He said he used to rely more heavily on students, but he has recently reached out to the rest of the community.
Nevertheless, Thorne said the university’s success is tied directly to that of the city, but the current labor dispute doesn’t appear to have a great affect on the rest of the community. “It seems to be fairly localized to the university,� he said. The university was much stronger prior to the 1990s, Thorne said. Without a leader like Delyte Morris, there’s been a decline in attendance and too much focus on projects like the Saluki Way, he said. Johnson said he’s optimistic about the future, but whatever happens isn’t going to change operations. “We’ve been here for over 40 years,� he said. “We’ve ridden out good stuff, bad stuff.�
Eli Mileur can be reached at emileur@dailyegyptian.com or 536-3311 ext. 266.