-Hello, and welcome to Vet Resources Check-In.
Today's topic is the Power of Peer Support Networks.
My name is Jay Zimmerman.
I am a US Army Combat Veteran
and also served in the role of a Supervisory Peer Specialist
with the Veterans Crisis Line Peer Support Outreach Center.
Well, what I'm here to talk to you today about
is the power of peer support and specifically in regards
to the recent crisis in Afghanistan
and why peer support is so important.
I know a lot of veterans have been calling and talking to us,
and a whole host of emotions
are surrounding this current situation.
A lot of time when things arise in our world like this,
many veterans get angry, and they shut down.
So if you found yourself at this video,
if you're hearing me speak, first of all,
kudos to you for getting here because that makes you and me,
and that makes two, and that's the start of peer support.
So that means neither of us are alone.
I'm here, and you're here,
and I've got people calling from all over the country.
Some are angry.
Some aren't, but regardless, your feelings are valid.
But the important part is the connection.
You may reach out to someone for help for yourself
and wind up being the help that they need.
Taking that initial step, that's the huge part:
the need to try to resist the urge to shut down,
to chew on your anger, to get stuck in your anger.
It's important that we persevere and push through that.
So what I would like to encourage you to do today
with this video is to reach out to a veteran that I don't know,
someone that I can't get a hold of
but that you can, a veteran that might be stuck
in that same place that I found myself in at times,
that you may find yourself in maybe even currently.
Maybe that's what led you to this place
where you're hearing me talk at this moment.
You know, so help somebody else in this moment.
Help them pull out of their anger the way that folks
that I've served with that might not be able to do,
people that have helped pull me out of my anger
because as somebody that has skin in this game,
I can tell you, I have my own feelings about the situation,
and just like you, you know, our feelings are valid.
And it helps sometimes to hear from somebody
that's been in a situation similar to you.
We have our rights to our feelings,
and nobody can take that away from us.
But, you know, there's a mixture of emotions regardless,
and as a peer, we're here to support each other
and to validate those feelings.
However, the thing that we can do in this moment is,
we can take control of our own situation,
take ownership of that situation,
empower not only yourself but empower somebody else,
help that other veteran that you know,
that you know how to get a hold of to reach out to,
send them the link to this video.
Ask them to do the same thing,
to send it to somebody else, to pay it forward
and let them know that we are here,
that you're there, that we all care.
The VA, we're big, but we can't reach everybody,
but with your help, we can reach many,
many more people than if we were doing this all by ourselves.
Let people know they are not alone.
So what I want you to think about,
if you would for a moment,
is, what does your peer network look like,
and how could you establish one today?
You know, just to share a bit about my situation with you,
I've been broken before,
you know, both mentally, physically and spiritually,
and utilizing my peer experience goes far beyond, like,
the work that I do for the VA.
I've been consumed before in places where I never thought
that I would get out of the negative emotions,
and some of the things that this situation has stirred up
has maybe brought back some of those emotions,
not just for me but for you.
And all that took was reaching out to someone,
to another veteran, to a family member, to a friend,
perhaps a clergy member, to reach out and grasp that hand
and say, "You know, I'm here to help you up,
to help pull you out of darkness."
Also, consider your community members, service providers.
Go to those folks for help.
You don't realize the tools that you have at hand.
You know, text somebody, text a vet.
Use your phone, make a phone call.
Excuse me.
Get on social media, or maybe even go old-school
and write somebody a letter.
You know, think about those times
when we may have been deployed
and, you know, how important that mail call was to you,
to get a letter from home.
Think about the impact that a letter might make
in somebody's life right now that is struggling.
You know, we all live the motto,
"We don't leave a fallen comrade behind."
So now, in this moment, think about that fellow vet
that you served with that may be struggling.
Reach out.
We have the ability to start that movement,
and sometimes, it's just about finding somebody else
that's going through the same things
that you're going through,
dealing with the same things that you are dealing with
or maybe that you dealt with.
You can be the voice in the darkness.
It can't always be us.
I would love it if we had the ability,
but we don't, but again, you, that veteran community,
you know where those resources are.
You know where there are veterans struggling.
I encourage you to reach out, connect with family member,
connect with friends.
If you served, male, female, Army, Navy,
Air Force, Marines, solider setup, I don't care.
You're part of my tribe,
and we need to be there to support one another.
If you're feeling down, if you're feeling helpless,
hopeless, the Veterans Crisis Line
is there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
I encourage you to reach out if you need somebody to talk to.
Give us a call, always somebody there with a warm voice
on the other end of the line.
If you're interested in talking to a Peer Support Specialist,
contact your local VA,
ask them how you can get in touch with one of us,
but remember, peer support is so much more than
just what the VA has to offer.
We have a huge network of veterans that are out there.
We signed up for service, and we can still continue to serve.
What we have to do is reach out.
That's the first step.
You took that step today.
I encourage you to continue to reach out
to those that you know that may be hurting and a need for help.
I want to thank you for giving me
a few minutes of your time today.
Again, thank you and keep doing the good work.