Veteran and Family Wellness Fair set for Saturday in Ukiah
The sobering national average for veterans who commit suicide each day has consistently remained around 20. Emphasizing the importance of mental health, while imperative for any human being, is especially crucial when it comes to veterans. Reaching out to the respected group to provide resources that address both medical and mental health is the goal of this Saturday’s Veteran and Family Wellness Fair, sponsored by Redwood Community Services and the Ukiah VA Clinic.
Administrative Officer Drew Adams, Clare Friedlander, Christine Hawley, RCS trainer Lindsey Painter, Keith Weathers from VA Member Services, and a VA clinic member stand together in the Veterans Garden at the VA Clinic. (Photo by Grace Woelbing)
The north end of Todd Grove Park is the location for the event, which will take place on August 24 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. It is free and open to the public.
The initial idea for an event such as the Veteran and Family Wellness Fair was generated in September of 2018 when RCS received a SAMHSA grant. With it came the opportunity to provide Mental Health Awareness Training to the community to strengthen their ability to both recognize and respond to any signs of mental illness.
Christine Hawley, trainer at RCS, says, “Our project encompasses working with entities that serve children up to age 21 or veterans. For this grant, we partnered with the VA Clinic and decided to focus on veterans’ mental health.”
Asking the clinic to support the grant also meant asking them to support a veteran’s outreach and mental health event. Clare Friedlander, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who works with the VA Clinic, adds, “We were happy to do so.”
Over 25 resource vendors will be present at Todd Grove Park and by 10 a.m., will all be ready and willing to inform all attendees of the services that they offer. The diverse assemblage will include nonprofits such as Manzanita Services and Project Sanctuary, clinics like Hillside Health Center and the VA Clinic along with Adventist Health, and a plethora of others—for example, groups similar to the NCO Gardens Project.
Hawley explains, “The idea was to have veteran-friendly health services and resources in our area be there.” Each booth will have information as well as an activity for the veterans and their families to complete.
With overall wellness being a main focus of the fair, RCS and the VA Clinic have invited certain groups and organizations from the community to offer wholesome and interactive services in the park. A local chiropractor will provide free adjustments, the Veterans Garden will be handing out starts and veggies, CrossFit Mendocino will distribute free passes to veterans, and Pets for Vets will bring adoptable dogs.
Veterans are encouraged to visit each vendor during the event, in addition to taking advantage of the blood pressure checks the nursing staff from the VA Clinic will be performing. Enrollment staff from the VA will also be available to help those who want to register for care.
Other veterans’ organizations contributing to the fair include the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention department, the Post 9/11 Vet Resources outreach staff from San Francisco and the Mendocino County Veterans Service Office that provides general benefits to veterans—including, but not limited to, home loans and education. Additionally, there will be a demonstration of an online STAIR program that is a self-guided PTSD treatment.
Friedlander comments, “We haven’t been able to hold an outreach event in years because we haven’t been fully staffed with primary care here at the clinic. Now we are, so we are really wanting to welcome veterans who have not gotten care at the VA before.”
Following a leisurely half-hour spent visiting the resource vendors, a breakfast buffet with delicious pancakes, eggs, and sausages will be served to those present in the park starting at 10:30 a.m. Guest speakers have been lined up to take the stage following the meal.
Each talk will run for approximately 15-20 minutes and will address various topics that pertain to wellness and the whole-body health of veterans. One scheduled speaker is Dr. Kevin Mack, a psychologist who has been working with veterans for over 30 years. Mack was also a former mental health director at the VA Clinic. His speech has been fittingly titled “Why Bother with Health and Wholeness?”
While the event is primarily focused on the veterans themselves, their families are also invited to attend. Numerous games and craft activities will be available for kids, including a bouncy house and water games.
Free raffle tickets will be handed out to event attendees, with winners set to be called out later in the day. Raffle prizes include a gym membership to Anytime Fitness, a fancy bottle of wine from Rivino Winery, an autographed ball and cap from the Giants, and gift certificates for local restaurants.
Ensuring that veterans in the community know that there is care available for them locally is the true goal of the event. The VA Clinic, which offers primary care and a full range of mental health services, is an incredible resource for any veterans in need. As the clinic is part of the San Francisco healthcare system, they are also able to refer and link veterans with other care in the community. Shuttles are provided, from Ukiah, north to Eureka or south to the Santa Rosa Clinic and the San Francisco Hospital.
Veterans who may be struggling with economic or housing issues—even difficulties with the criminal justice system—can find aid at the clinic as well.
Inspired by the SAMHSA grant, which will sponsor the partnership between RCS and the VA Clinic for three years, Friedlander concludes, “Many veterans who commit suicide are not involved with the VA, so we’re hoping that this is the first of many outreach events in our community.”
