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Conference will address mental health for veterans, families

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Megan Friedl
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Stress, trauma, deadlines, financial difficulties, and deployments are all experiences military members and their families could possibly encounter and are common causes of mental health problems.

To address mental health issues, Operation Honor is organizing its second annual "No Family Left Behind" conference and connection fair at Faith Family Church in Shiloh, Illinois, April 24 and 25. This conference is dedicated to providing mental health resources to veterans and active duty military members and their families.

Brian Russell, Operation Honor Event Coordinator, said, "As a retired chief [master sergeant], one of the things that I always felt was lacking was support for families. It exists, but not specifically to behavioral health issues. That's why we created this event last year, to meet a need that we felt wasn't being met."

People are considered the military's best asset. Therefore, their health is a big concern that needs to be taken care of. The Air Force is concerned with all four pillars of resiliency to provide a balance for an Airman to lead a healthy life. The four pillars are social and family, physical, mental and emotional, and spiritual. No Family Left Behind is designed to help servicemembers, veterans, their family members, teachers, coworkers, and anyone that knows a veteran with any or all of those pillars.

The conference is hosting three sessions. April 24 will have two sessions. The first session begins at 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the evening session will be from 5:30 to 9 p.m. The April 25 session is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

This year there are even more organizations that have joined in the effort, such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Allsup, and Illinois Joining Forces. They are all concerned with getting resources and helping out the people who need them.

Ed Tick, Executive Director of Soldiers Heart, along with Glen Miller, Co-Director of Veterans Community Network, will be keynote speakers at the conference. They will address topics such as post-traumatic stress disorder, transitioning from the warzone and helping veterans and families restore their souls.

Breakout sessions will also occur at the event. Among the variety of issues are post-deployment readjustment for children, help for families affected by post-traumatic stress disorder and preventing suicide.

Trish Freeland, Operation Honor's Public Affairs Specialist, said "Once someone has served their country, it shouldn't be a hard time transiting into the civilian life. The more someone knows about the things that are out there the more help they can receive."

People of all backgrounds and religious affiliations are welcome to come to any of the sessions to check out the speakers, learn more about the organizations there to help and participate in the break out sessions.

To register or for more information, visit www.operationhonor.net or call 277-0232.