Services
One on One attention and Home-Like Care, a second Home
Ground Breaking Therapy, Veterans working with Veterans
Life coaching for a better tomorrow
SERVICES
© 2007-2008, Nadia McCaffrey, the Patrick McCaffrey Foundation &  the Veteran's Village, all rights reserved ©
Formed in 2006-2007, the organization is a peace based organization for
members of the military who have served in the war, we are focusing on the Iraq & Afghanistan conflicts, however, this foundation is to help
all war veterans . We believe the best way to support our troops is to bring them home now and take care of them when they get here.
Hi Nadia,
I hope your well.  A spouse
of a veteran has donated
two wheelchair to veterans
in need.
Let me know if you know
anyone who can use a
powered wheelchair.
Mary
Mary Jalufka, Owner
MindFul Referral Services
PO Box 273282
Concord, CA 94527
Nadia@veteransvillage.org
Thursday, March 20, 2008
New Self-Assessments for Mental Health
Protect Anonymity, Offer Referrals for
Treatment

Want to know if you’re exhibiting symptoms of PTSD? Do you
suspect one of your buddies is abusing alcohol to cope with
combat or post-combat stress and could use professional help?
Has your spouse come home from deployment and returned a
different person?

Service members seeking answers to these types of questions
can now assess their health via a new set of self-administered,
anonymous screening tools offered as part of the Mental Health
Self-Assessment Program (MHSAP).  This DoD-funded program
provided by the non-profit organization, Screening for Mental
Health, Inc., covers a variety of psychological concerns and is
especially helpful to service members and families struggling
with issues of stress, anxiety, and depression during a post-
deployment, readjustment period.

"No one is immune from the stresses of everyday life, and
especially those associated with deployment,” explained
Captain Mark Paris, Ph.D., Deputy Director, Psychological Health
Strategic Operations, Force Health Protection and Readiness.
“Here is an easy, quick, and private way of finding out if seeking
help might just be a good idea."

The questionnaires are short, free, and offered 24 hours a day
online (at militarymentalhealth.org) and by phone (1-877-877-
3647). They will also be administered at special events held at
installations around the world. The six available questionnaires
cover depression, bipolar disorder, alcohol use, general anxiety
disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, and adolescent
depression.

Each questionnaire includes a demographics section asking for
info like age, marital status, military rank and status (if any),  and
deployment status. A series of questions follows that gathers
information on a person’s mental well-being. Some questions
focus on sleeping and eating habits, some on mood and
attitude, and other ask about a person’s ability to function and
concentrate.

When linked together, the answers to these questions create a
picture of how an individual is feeling and whether they could
benefit from talking to a health professional. If an outcome
results in a recommendation to seek professional help, the
individual receives feedback on who to speak with and/or where
to go, whether it’s a chaplain, a clinic, a TRICARE provider, or the
VA.  Appropriate hotline numbers and info on finding support
groups are also provided.

Often service members hesitate to seek help for emotional
issues. They’re understandably concerned about the stigma
associated with psychological treatment. But these screening
tests can be taken on the service member’s time, at any time,
and without anyone else knowing. And the results of a screening
can help persuade a person to seek treatment. “Anonymity
allows people who are distressed to gauge where they are as
far as their need for help goes,” said Katherine Cruise, Director
of Communications and Marketing for Screening for Mental
Health. “This is a discrete way to take that first step toward
treatment.”

Providing easy and anonymous screenings for psychological
health advances the Military Health System’s commitment to
health and resilience in the military community at large.  DoD
and Screening for Mental Health, Inc. are hopeful that this
method of screening will help service members and their
families catch problems before they grow into more serious
conditions. “Our goal is to reach service members and families
who struggle with the stress of military life,” said Cruise.

In addition to the self-assessment program, Screening for
Mental Health, Inc. created A Different Kind of Courage:
Safeguarding and Enhancing Your Psychological Health, an
educational video containing interviews with military personnel
and families that explores military mental health issues and
offers advice on how to approach a family member or friend who
may need professional help. The full video and its trailer can be
streamed at Screening for Mental Health’s Web site. “You want
your spouse to come home and just open their arms and just
hug you,” says the wife of a recently deployed Marine in the video.
“But in fact, they’re dealing with a lot.”

MHSAP questionnaires are available 24/7 at
militarymentalhealth.org and 1-877-877-3647.

Screening for Mental Health, Inc. offers free kits of materials to
installations wishing to hold mental health and alcohol
education events. The organization has similar kits for Family
Readiness Groups, Chaplains, and other groups that help
military families during deployment cycles.  You can order the
kits online.
Mission
The mission of Patrick McCaffrey’s Foundation is to promote mental and holistic wellness and
palliative care among veterans returning from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, especially those
suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), by providing a live-in retreat village,
wherein with the help of trained professional staff and volunteers, veterans will find inner
healing and an eventual re-entry into society.
The Patrick McCaffrey Foundation is a nonprofit public charity, IRS 501c3, that provides
activities to benefit American military veterans and their families.  The activities include
programs and services that help support veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq wars to transition
back to their families and communities.
Comments from Dr. Jonathan Shay
Soldiers Project
Conference
Los Angeles, CA
May 17, 2008


*Please note, these comments are not exactly
transcribed or complete and are written to reflect
most of the general ideas and concepts that Dr Shay
presented of during his address to conference
attendees.

Recovery happens only in community and it is most meaningful
when done among comrades. The idea of combat [traumatic
events] is very important preventative measure to stress injuries
(PTSD). The minimum case of community is three people. There
is something that happens when the group is broken. If two leave,
one very often has issues with ideas and thoughts of: are the two
planning to harm, exploit or humiliate me? There is also the issue
of social distrust; it is one of the most destructive elements of
damage to a veteran's spirit. There is a primary injury ... and then
there are complications secondary to the original "primary" injury.
In combat, there are many examples of adaptation of survival. But
these adaptations often don't apply in garrison or civilian life. Often,
these adaptations continue once the veterans is no longer in a
combat zone ... as in back home with family; and there is an
unavoidable impact on the family. One adaptation that is well
known to family members (especially spouses) is the requirement
to shut down emotional response - grief Recovery happens only in
community and it is most meaningful when done among
comrades. The idea of shut down. Many wives have described it
as the "Ice Man." There often is an active expectation among unit
cohesion is very important. Training together and establishing
strong cohesion prior to, during and after unit cohesion is very
important. Training together and establishing strong cohesion
prior to, during and after combat [traumatic events] is very
important preventative measure to stress injuries (PTSD). The
minimum case of community is three people. There is something
that happens when the group is broken. If two leave, one very often
has issues with ideas and thoughts of: are the two planning to
harm, exploit or humiliate me? There is also the issue of social
distrust; it is one of the most destructive elements of damage to a
veteran's spirit. There is a primary injury ... and then there are
complications secondary to the original "primary" injury. In combat,
there are many examples of adaptation of survival. But these
adaptations often don't apply in garrison or civilian life. Often, these
adaptations continue once the veterans is no longer in a combat
zone ... as in back home with family; and there is an unavoidable
impact on the family. One adaptation that is well known to family
members (especially spouses) is the requirement to shut down
emotional response - grief shut down. Many wives have described
it as the "Ice Man." There often is an active expectation among
combat veterans (especially those with PTSD) that there is
potential for harm or humiliation in the civilian social arena ... Who
are you? What is your game? Many psychologists and
psychiatrists have formed a habit of calling this reaction
"paranoia." I disagree with this and urge that caregivers don't call
this paranoia. One unknown is what elements of the primary injury
are reversible. But the primary injury rarely wrecks a veteran's life.
One example of this behavior is when a veteran takes his child to a
baseball game and sits in the truck way out on the 3rd base line
and watches the game from a distance. But it is the complications
of the primary injury that are catastrophic. "Get this guy away from
me" is a common reaction of leaders and some care providers.
Management and treatment of the complications from the primary
injury is possible ... but not in a dyad; among two individuals who
share a sociologically significant relationship. Recovery from
damaged character is possible. The three know things that protect
the mind and spirit for veterans are: cohesion, leadership, and
training. There is the farmer analogy: The ancient farmer who
sustains a physical wound or illness during the season where
nutrition is low will have a much lower potential for wound healing;
same with veterans in combat. There is also term called "social
nutrition." It relates also to cohesion and camaraderie. Then there
is something that vets do to protect themselves from secondary
trauma. They set up all kinds of weird shit, like tests of trust
because of their expectations of harm by others through
exploitation. And in the case of care providers, there is something
known as "splitting" where the veteran ends the treatment and
relationship with the care provider. For managers of care giver
staff, it is also important to maintain a sense of strong community,
cohesion and trust among the care provider team. Mental health
units are experiencing a rate of tremendous turnover in community
with the current heavy load. There are burnout, meltdown and
suicide issues among care providers. In the care giver community
there is the important idea of "struggling safely together." From the
aspect of mental health care team management, it is far more cost
effective to get ride of the "regular schedule" mentality and to make
the needed changes to adapt to the patient load. There is also the
concept of "moral moron" [no details written down about this]. On
sleep ... which is very simple and extremely important ... but is still
a big unsolved problem within DoD culture, especially the macho
culture of the Marine Corps. With sleep deprivation, comes a loss
of capacity for "higher mental function" and cognitive frame shifting.
Sleep deprivation causes the frontal lobes to be knocked "offline." I
have had positive response to this when I talked about it during
sessions with members of the CNO Strategic Studies Group [Who
has attended?]. The problem with military culture is that there is no
current "sleep doctrine." Sleep is not a logistical concern as is
beans, bullets and bandages. Concern for sleep logistics simply
does not happen within the culture, especially in combat theatre.
The same could be said about the issue of hydration 20 years
ago. Where you would have a particularly macho Marine say, "I can
run a 20k and not have to use the water in my canteen, what's your
problem?" Today, at Camp Lejuene, there are urine color charts to
check the color of Marines' urine to educate them on the
recognized issue of hydration safety. But the sleep culture has not
yet changed. In the realm of sleep, it is not yet supported within the
military culture. And the consequence of that is the sleep deprived
mind inside the combat zone  ... the literal voice of the sleep
deprived  brain is, "Kill 'em all and let god sort 'em out."



Hi Nadia,

Below is some of our information, I'm not sure if we have e-mailed this information to you before. There is an
attachment of a flyer for our Fallen Heroes Program.
Tutor Request Form -is what we fax the families if they are interested in signing up.

We would like to provide services for more families but will need your help in having the families get in
contact with us or obtain their information.

Below is a description of the services that the children or spouse of the fallen will receive.


Professional Tutors of America would like to offer the following services to the nationwide surviving
dependents of the fallen in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars:

1. A minimum of one hour of free tutoring per week.

2. The tutoring will be for K-12 students and surviving spouses who are continuing their education.

3. The tutoring will take place in home or a nearby location.


We have been in the business of helping kids for over 25 years. The company is owned an operated by a
veteran, Bob Harraka.

Below is a link from the Orange County Register that was written about our Fallen Heroes Program.

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/brea_lahabra/business/article_1595735.php

Thank you Nadia. I will call to update you.
If you have any questions please let me know.

Sincerely,

Ernesta Brito

Area Coordinator
Ernesta@professionaltutors.com
(714) 784-3455 or (800) 832-2487 Ext. 255
SERVICE TO HELP
OUR GOLD STAR CHILDREN
AND SURVIVING SPOUSES:
The Patrick McCaffrey Foundation, named after Sergeant Patrick R. McCaffrey, the first California National Guard, since WWII, (from
the 579th Engineer Battalion from Petaluma), to lose his life in Iraq on June 22, 2004, is committed to bringing healing and hospice, as
well as career counseling and training, to veterans returning from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its founding member and
President, Nadia McCaffrey, mother of Sergeant Patrick McCaffrey, wants to carry on the work her son would have pursued had his
life not been curtailed so prematurely. Patrick, who did not expect to be deployed to Iraq, decided to honor the commitment he made
to help people by going to Iraq as a leader and Combat Life Saver, bringing healing and love to his fellow soldiers and the Iraqi children.