Tidbits
LVMAC Tidbit — An Update on the Lehigh Valley’s PHWFFI Work
If needed, click on image to expand for reading. ### As of 5 August 2014
Forward Observer
Forward Observer — Veterans Sanctuary is Gone, but Something of It Remains
As most already know, Veterans Sanctuary unfortunately is no more. It ceased to be after a troubled ten months of operation last year. The building, which was the physical shell for a sophisticated therapeutic approach to treating our returning war veterans, both men and women, when they suffered from chronic addiction to drugs or alcohol and profound war-induced trauma, figuratively collapsed for lack of local county, state and federal government support – only the City of Allentown had assisted.
But a light still shines. (more…)
Tidbits
LVMAC Tidbit — Still Serving Homeless Veterans
Our Only Homeless Veterans Shelter in the Lehigh Valley Seeks Your Assistance
It may not be as fashionable these days to talk about transition shelters for the chronic homelessness, with all the new emphasis on Housing First models (permanent housing with at least initial case management) and preventive services, but like shoes for feet, “one size does not fit all.” There is a place for this service which wraps itself around a chronically homeless veteran and assists him/her in recovery to the point that he/she resumes a productive life – and being concerned about the continuum of care often needed afterwards. (more…)
Tidbits
LVMAC Tidbit — Last Call for Our Fishing Folks
LAST CALL!
TIME CHANGE DUE SUMMER’S EXTREME HEAT
FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED
FLY FISHING OUTING
Tuesday July 15th 2014
BOB SAKS’ POND
4 PM TO 8 PM
Dear Vets and Volunteers,
A Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing Mini-Outing is scheduled for Tuesday, July 15th 2014 at Bob Saks’ Pond between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. This is an informal day of fishing for fun. There will be no schedule to follow. The group will be limited to the first 10 vets and 10 instructors who return the pre-registration form below. (more…)
Tidbits
LVMAC Tidbit — Volunteers Needed for the Wheelchair Games in the Lehigh Valley Suburb of Philadelphia
Volunteers are now being sought to help with the 34th National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Philadelphia during the period 12 through 17 August 2014. The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Paralyzed Veterans of America are “co-presenting” or hosting the Games, the largest of its kind in the world, and expected to attract more than 500 veterans athletes with spinal cord injuries, amputations or serious neurological disorders. (more…)
Tidbits
LVMAC Tidbit — Rotary Club of Bethlehem Falls In to Help Our Local Veterans and Their Families
The Rotary Club of Bethlehem, via a fundraiser in the Fall (5 October), has decided to support the Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council in its efforts to help military veterans who could use special assistance. The Council is thankful to them for their willingness to help us in serving this important segment of our society and our local community; and their effort neatly dovetails with needs being generated by some of our alliance efforts. (more…)
Tidbits
LVMAC Tidbit: OEF/OIF Vets Wanted for Walter Reed Comparative PTSD Study
Researchers at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence on the campus of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, are currently recruiting for a study in which they provide free evidence-based therapy to OEF/OIF military veterans, service members, guardsmen, and reservists experiencing combat-related PTSD. (more…)
Forward Observer
Forward Observer — Their American Dream is Homelessness?
One Way You Can Help Your Homeless Veterans Locally – Find Them, Gather Them
Not all who are homeless deserve their circumstance. Good families are affected nowadays. We of the Lehigh Valley are a hardy people, but living on the streets or in pioneer camps should not be our final option. It is an unfortunate reality nonetheless.
It seems doubly a shame for our community when one who has honorably served and actually fought for his or her country is found in such a condition. Whether it is this veteran’s pride or behavior, or a combination of both, that has led to the situation should not matter to us – we can always find a plausible excuse for inaction.
As the Lehigh Valley Military Affairs Council (LVMAC) activates its new Lehigh Valley Homeless Veterans Action Committee to attack veteran’s homelessness as a regional problem, one of its participants is already trying to get those in the most extreme of circumstances in from the “cold.” VALOR Clinic Foundation, a new 501(c)(3) nonprofit now working its way down from the Bangor area into the wider Lehigh Valley, has taken up the mission of establishing routine stand downs in the Lehigh Valley. (more…)
Uncategorized
LVMAC Tidbit — New Edition of PTSD Booklet Available
To meet the demand, a reprinting of Stephanie Laite Lantham’s Veterans and Families’ Guide for Recovering from PTSD is now available upon request at no cost to those who want to learn more about PTSD and want to know how to help a loved one or a friend. The booklet has also proven unexpectedly useful to the local judiciary and municipalities as well.
“The Guide” was at one time distributed by the Military Order of Purple Heart (MOPH) to the VA Vet Centers in all 50 states. That’s how it came it first came to our attention. We believed booklet could fulfill an additional, special need in our community if tailored to it. Fortunately, the author was willing to work with us. (more…)