Welcome to Smyrna UCC!
Veterans' Resources
The Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs is a comprehensive source of information about the benefits and programs available to veterans and their families. Covering topics as diverse as disability accommodations, emergency assistance, employment support, taxes, scholarship and tuition programs for higher education, dental care, identification needs, insurance, and how to obtain a special veteran's license plate, their website is a "go to" information resource.
See https://www.oregon.gov/odva/Pages/default.aspx or call 503-373-2085, to learn about resources of many types.
NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) recognizes that nearly 1 in 4 persons serving in the US military eventually experiences difficulties, whether due to traumatic experiences, head injuries, or simply the very real stresses of military service and readjustment to civilian life. NAMI offers support and education specifically for veterans and their families through Homefront -- see https://www.nami.org/programs/nami-homefront/ to learn more.
However,
if you or someone you love are having thoughts of harming self or others,
PLEASE DO NOT WAIT!! Call:
VETERANS' CRISIS LINE - Dial 988, then press 1
Note: You do not need to be enrolled in Veterans' benefits or other health care programs to make use of this support service. This is free, confidential support that will help you get the assistance you need.
Make the Connection provides a video collection of veterans telling their personal stories of mental health challenges and how they coped. It is intended to support veterans in finding their own path to healing, by learning about what has worked for others who have had similar experiences. See their website, at https://maketheconnection.net.
Fort Kennedy was founded by Retired First Sargeant Tina Kennedy, after returning to her Milwaukie, OR home and observing that so many of her fellow veterans were having difficulty finding the resources they needed, as they returned to civilian life. Fort Kennedy is a nonprofit organization that provides food, clothing, and other essential resources for Oregon veterans and their families who are challenged by homelessness and/or limited income, and also helps all veterans connect with benefits they have earned through service to our country: Fort Kennedy's motto is "Giving a hand up, not a hand out." To learn about their services, go to their website, at https://www.fortkennedy.org.