Make Changes: Always Have Good Intentions

largely due to the after-effects of war.

“I lost some people I was very close to, two of my former students were murdered, and my father died [all in one year]. In the midst of this, I was self-medicating with alcohol, [operating] as a functional alcoholic. One thing I learned with PTSD is if you don’t express yourself or you hold your anger in, when that resentment takes hold of you, that’s when you’ll have problems, and I started having problems,” Roberts shared.

A Trauma That Left Him Forever Changed

Having started what became a lengthy career of service to the United

States Army soon after high school, Roberts was 42 when he was called to active duty in Iraq in 2005. These unexpected orders included mobilizing his division and presented an abrupt halt to his planned retirement.

Serving as First Sergeant, stationed at the Taji National Depot– the largest Army Base in Iraq– Roberts experienced a whirlwind of chaos and trauma that he couldn’t quite erase from his mind once he returned home.

But despite his honorable commitment to protect and serve, Roberts quickly learned he would not be welcomed with open arms while attempting to reacclimate himself to society. Having worked simultaneously within the DC Public school system as a social worker for years be- fore his deployment, he was shocked to find himself turned away from his job upon his return. He was officially diagnosed with PTSD in October of 2006, and later faced bouts of alcoholism to cope.

The severity of the war grounds made common activities nearly unbearable as he reverted to his pre-war era. Traffic became a nerve-wracking task having to transition: from barreling through Iraqi streets commanding others; to the hypervigilant discomfort of sitting through traffic, reminding him of the fatal threat that stillness posed on the battleground overseas. Even morning worship became an issue while facing the oncoming influx of traffic into his church parking lot while attempting to leave service.

He became very aggressive in his communication, damaging his ability to connect with people the way he used to.

“I started to notice that some things were going on with me when I returned. When I went to try and get help at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at that time, my experience did not go very well,” he explained. “I described a situation [to my caseworker] that happened with me and my daughter returning home. She was 15, 16 and [one evening] she had stayed out all night. I was explaining to them the depth of just how angry I was, and do you know, [they] called child protection services on me?” http://www.franklinspeaksup.com

While nothing came out of it, they neglected to revisit Roberts’ plea for assistance to remedy his heightened anger induced by his experiences overseas.

After years of struggling to cope, and a mental breakdown that landed him in jail for roughly two years, he decided to fight hard in advocating for his mental health, staying consistent with touch points across the VA, and including his partner during visits to help better articulate his needs.

He emphasized that although it is a challenging road to recovery, to take advantage of all resources that are available or else they could very well pass by veterans in need.

“That’s the thing that hurts us sometimes, is that a lot of times, we’re not ready to receive the services, and that was me. When I say ready, you have to have it in your mind and heart that you are ready to change. As far as this mental health thing, you are asking me to do things that society tells me not to do as a man. Sharing, expressing yourself,” Roberts said.