GROWING RESOURCES FOR STRUGGLING VETERANS | ||
While on patrol in Afghanistan in the summer of 2012 , Santa Ana College student Matthew Aland and his platoon were caught in a firefight . Aland ’ s comrade , who carried the only machine gun in the 12-man crew , had lost his vision due to heat exhaustion from the scorching Middle Eastern weather .“ I got the ammo , manned the machine gun and started shooting ,” Aland said . Aland and his team made it out alive that day , but when he returned home after his five-year service in the Marines , invisible wounds from the experience remained .
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said . Griego works in the emergency room at Saddleback Memorial Hospital in Laguna Hills and empathizes with patients like Aland , who struggle not only with their PTSD , but are also unsure of how to ask for help .
“ We need to break that stigma . People need to know it ’ s okay to seek help ,”
Griego said .“ It ’ s not a sign of weakness , it ’ s a sign of strength .”
By 2014 , Aland ’ s binge drinking was out of control , his attempt to numb the emotional pain left over from years of active duty , which led to a car accident that
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Originally from Texas , Aland , 26 , settled in Orange County after his tour , and within months he began showing the signs of combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder that an estimated 11 to 20 percent of recent veterans say they experience : anger , isolation , depression . Like so many others returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan , his symptoms went untreated , putting him at higher risk of life-altering consequences , including hospitalization , unemployment , and , ultimately , homelessness , according to the U . S . Department of Veterans Affairs . Fortunately for Aland and veterans |
like him who are struggling with mental health conditions after serving in the military , the resources in Santa Ana are growing . To help veterans on campus , SAC ’ s Veterans Resource Center offers various programs such as Veterans Upward Bound , Veterans Support Services and Strength in Support . Strength in Support provides counseling , mentorship and workshops run by veterans , therapists and military family members .
“ We need more space for mental health personnel , facilities and aftercare to make sure this population gets the help they so desperately need and deserve ,” SAC nursing program student Christina Griego
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nearly killed him and another driver . “ That was a profoundly guilty experience because I just wanted my downward spiral to affect me , but it had collateral damage , bringing someone else down with me . That ’ s something that I still struggle with ,” Aland said . When Aland ’ s apartment lease ended shortly after , he became homeless , one of about 50,000 veterans who sleep on the streets each night in the U . S . A fellow veteran , who worked at Veterans First in Santa Ana , invited him to the facility . There he was offered housing , meals and mental health counseling at no cost .
See SUPPORT Page 6
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