January 07, 2009
University of Michigan Depression Center receives Welcome Back Veterans award for returning veterans and families
ANN ARBOR, Mich – The McCormick Foundation in Chicago has awarded $350,000 to the University of Michigan Depression Center and Department of Psychiatry to help address the “invisible brain injuries” among returning Iraqi and Afghanistan veterans and their families. These include sleep, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and associated problems. The gift is part of a larger fundraising initiative called Welcome Back Veterans created by New York Mets Chairman and CEO Fred Wilpon to provide returning veterans the quality evaluations, treatment, support systems, and long-term employment assistance they deserve to restart their lives and care for their families.
Latest statistics indicate that more than 300,000 veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan are currently suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or major depression (Rand Corporation, 2008). A significant percentage of these veterans do not get help for various reasons including access issues and stigma attached to seeking care. The University of Michigan Depression Center project will focus on developing a “Veteran-to-Veteran” program (to be called Buddy-to-Buddy) that trains veterans to serve as peer support for other veterans. “Another veteran who has ‘been there’ can be more effective than anyone else as a credible source to ‘normalize’ the situation, provide support and resources, and urge treatment when appropriate,” says John F. Greden, M.D., Executive Director of the University of Michigan Depression Center. “We think that this approach will go a long way toward overcoming the stigma that has long been associated with depression, PTSD, and the other associated problems.”
The Depression Center Welcome Back Veterans project also includes services to at-risk spouses, children and parents of veterans—groups that might not have coverage for the care they need. The University of Michigan, Weill Cornell Medical College and Stanford University have been designated “Core Centers” by the Welcome Back Veterans project to work on developing best practices that can then be replicated nationally by others with the intent to provide access to care for all returning veterans. Working together, Welcome Back Veteran Core Centers, the Veterans Administration Health System, the Department of Defense, and Veterans Services Organizations can create programs like Buddy-to-Buddy and can assist thousands of veterans in restarting their lives.
For more information on the Welcome Back Veterans initiative, please visit www.welcomebackveterans.org and www.McCormickFoundation.org, or contact Jane Spinner at the U-M Depression Center at jspinner@umich.edu.
- Buddy to Buddy
A program designed to help returning soldiers deal with the many challenges they may face when readjusting to life at home. - Welcome Back Parenting
A guide for reconnecting families after military deployment.
Contact Person: Jane Spinner
Media contact: Katie Vloet
E-mail: kgazella@umich.edu
Phone: 734-764-2220
