Every year on Veterans Day, November 11, we ask ourselves how we can better serve those who serve for us. This year, we asked
Project Healing Waters program leader Larry Vawter just how we can best do this. “Support them in any way you can,” he said. “Get involved with helping these folks.”
Vawter is in charge of the Fort Meade chapter of Project Healing Waters, a non-profit organization that works to rehabilitate veterans through fly fishing. But it’s not just about fishing. “It’s a vehicle to get them busy, keep them active.”
Keeping combat troops busy and occupied is a central mission with several local non-profit organizations working to help veterans adjust to life outside combat. The
Connected Warrior Foundation has two charges: to provide tablets to veterans nationwide, and to help plan and organize events for vets locally. “We have PTSD retreats, sailing regattas, and hiking trips,” says Jim Leckinger, director of programs and engagement for CWF. “Anything that gets them together and away from their daily cares, so they can work together to resolve issues.”
Leckinger says that while the spectrum of PTSD is wide and the CWF does not operate on a clinical level, the retreats and outings allow veterans to speak with others who have experienced similar traumas. “There’s a huge trust factor,” he says. “They trust each other because they’ve gone through the same thing.”
“There are too many suicides within the veteran community right now,” Vawter says. Through Project Healing Waters, veterans “get with their peers, where they can interact with each other. Then, if they want to go fishing, we just go for it.”
Warrior Events, another local non-profit, organizes events for veterans to socialize on all levels. From dinner dates to tailgates, sailing regattas, and fishing tournaments, Warrior Events works to provide interaction, fun, and camaraderie for veterans while also raising awareness and appreciation in the community.
“We do a lot of sporting events,” says founder and former Marine John O’Leary. “At any one time, we’re assisting about 100 troops and families. It’s important to get to both the troop and his or her family, because the families go through a lot of stress themselves.” Warrior Events will take kids out on a pirate ship, take wives and mothers to the salon for the day, and host cookouts and other social events for troops to get together and socialize.
“We took eight Marine Corps amputees up to Boston after the marathon bombings to meet with the victims in the hospital. The civilians thought the troops were so cool; they were there to say ‘I have the same thing going on, trust me, you’ll be fine!’ We rode around town in fire trucks, went to a Sox game, and afterward they all said that being in the hospital was the best part because the guys felt they were doing something positive.”
Warrior Events seeks to get troops involved in service-related programs, getting them back in the groove of serving their community. “We’re taking troops to St. Jude’s Hospital in Memphis to put on a dinner for the cancer patients there. That’s going to be tough, but I know it’s going to be great for us.”
So how can you help? If you know a veteran who would benefit from some sort of assistance, don’t hesitate to bring him or her to an event. If you’re a veteran yourself, contact your local VFW and see if you can’t bring in a member from a local non-profit to discuss ways to serve the troops, both still in the hospital and out.
And finally, consider contributing your time, your resources, and your wallet. You’re a phone call or a mouse click away from making a difference in someone’s life.