Coming home is an event, as well as a process.

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2 The Military Cultural Competency Certificate Training Program provided by Home Again has been a great resource for my staff and me - the trainers are very knowledgeable and are able to pass on information about military culture and service in a way that is easily translatable into actual practice. - Michael DeFalco, Psy.D. Director The Military Wellness Program at Holliswood Hospital Coming home is an event, as well as a process. There is a reason that nearly 20% of military service members who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan 300,000 in all report symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder or major depression, yet only slightly more than half have sought treatment. Veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) have experienced long and frequent deployments that are far from home, both physically and culturally. Both the length and frequency of these deployments is unprecedented, so while all decorated war heroes do not experience PTSD, there is no question that challenges abound. These challenges are exacerbated by the feelings of isolation and disenfranchisement a newly discharged veteran might feel upon coming home to a neighborhood, city, and state in which less than 1% has served in uniform. Our veterans and their families need understanding from the civilian population. At Home Again, we know that every veteran has his or her own unique military experience. Military families and their service members are resilient, and the process of reintegration is a natural course, but sometimes guidance is needed. Professional guidance is informed by an understanding of military culture, as well as by a family s values, hierarchy, and an ability to adapt and overcome. Our veterans and their families need understanding. They need services that help them cope with trauma reminders, alleviate stress through coping strategies, improve familial communications patterns, and boost functioning and wellbeing. This is provided by people who truly understand their circumstances and their cultural perspective people trained in cultural competency, people who understand. Our veterans and their families need professionals trained by Home Again.

3 From those new to working with service members, to the combat veteran, everyone will walk away from the training with a greater working knowledge of what it takes to serve the needs of veterans. - Joshua Gaccione Program Director, Veterans Outreach at FSW [Bridgeport, Connecticut] OEF & OIF Veteran, US Army, 82nd Airborne Division home again focuses on the positive first. Home Again has pioneered a new way of reaching out and providing services to OEF and OIF veterans. The Home Again program was a first-of-its kind effort to look not only at the right kind of therapies for our returning veterans, but to focus on adaptation, transition from a military mindset to a civilian mindset, and use clear lessons from one setting to another. We know that a larger lens than psychopathology, diagnosis, and treatment must also be used and that reintegration is to be expected. Home Again starts with the strengths veterans bring to the table. From there, we help them work on the challenges and deficits they may have. The program has already been successfully deployed to a wide range of service providers from mental health professionals to career advisors, from job readiness programs to school administrators and educators, from program administrators to child welfare providers, even from police officers to emergency response teams. The program conducts world-class clinical services as well as extensive outreach to communities, institutes of higher education, online portals, and workplaces where veterans are most likely affiliated. The Home Again program also uses a team of Peer Advocates themselves, veterans to provide support and encouragement around readjustment issues, relating to work and school. They can also provide referrals to counseling and help us refine our training, so that we are always providing the best possible services. The program has proven so successful that Home Again has created a training curriculum for others who serve our veterans and their families. Now, the challenge is to scale that training program so that nationally, veterans who are struggling can get the help they most need. In the way they most need it.

4 As a Marine Corps Veteran myself... I can vouch for the critical importance this particular training program has for any individuals wanting to provide professional help to veterans and their families. [The training] will leave you with a genuine source of hope. - Herb Ruben, LCSW Project Director, Veterans Mental Health Coalition of NYC and Veterans Health Alliance of Long Island you can be the difference for thousands of veterans. Home Again is also a promise. JBFCS is the largest provider of mental health services in the five boroughs of New York. We are committed to reaching out to all populations of people who are in need of mental health services and providing world-class care. For over 100 years JBFCS has been providing cutting-edge trauma and behavior treatment to New Yorkers in need. Our Martha K. Selig Educational Institute brings the best of mental health and human service knowledge to the professionals we train and the clients we serve. Home Again is committed to doing whatever it takes to assure the successful reintegration of veterans returning from multiple tours on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, and that reintegration is a family process where every member of the family can play his or her role in the process of reintegration and living happy and fulfilling lives. We are committed to making sure that everyone who works with military families has both the skills and the empathy to provide the kind of care that veterans truly need. In the way they most need it. There is no group in our community that is more at risk than our veterans and their families. There is no group more deserving of the very best we have to offer. Less than 1% of our community is engaged in the conflict our veterans have experienced, but all of us can be part of the process of bringing them Home Again. For that to be possible, Home Again needs a financial partner. You can be that pivotal partner to make sure that every person involved in the care and support of veterans and their families is as well trained and qualified as they must be in order to help this population achieve the success they most certainly deserve.

5 Adriana Rodriguez, LCSW Coordinator & Master Trainer 135 West 50 th St., 6 th Fl. New York, N Y p: (212) e: [email protected] homeagainveterans.org