New Veteran & Family Support Service
County of Morris
Morris County has launched a “Veteran and Family Support Program” under contract with the Mental Health Association to assist veterans in re-establishing themselves with their families and in the community after returning home from duty.
The Veteran and Family Support Program is designed to provide free psychotherapy services to veterans, as well as group counseling and support to their families and friends. MHA describes it as a holistic approach to help veterans reunify with family as the returning service members simultaneously deal with post traumatic stress disorder and other psychological barriers to readjusting to civilian life.
There also will be referral components that link veterans to employment, finance and other services necessary to their readjustment. The program is one of three launched by the Morris County Board of County Commissioners through the Morris County Department of Human Services to assist returning veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. However, the programs are open to all veterans.
“We began these programs out of respect for our returning service members and the difficulties they and their families face after they come back from a conflict to pick up their lives again. Sometimes they need to talk to other veterans who faced the same difficulties re-entering our society. Some may find they need professional counseling, and their families may realize they too need some guidance in how to interact with a loved-one returning home from combat. As we said, Morris County wants to be here for our veterans, not only on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, but always,” said Commissioner Deputy Director John Krickus, a Marine Corps veteran.
“MHA is proud to stand with Morris County’s veterans; they are the best of us. Trauma is real and impacts all of us, and veterans despite their bravery are still human. And we all need help from time to time. The veterans were there for us and we will be there for them,” said MHA CEO Robert Davison.
The initiative was unanimously approved by the County Commissioners late last year and is being supported funds made available through the American Rescue Plan Act.
The other programs launched include “Peer to Peer Support Counseling” to facilitate veterans being counseled by fellow veterans who shared similar experiences, and “Veteran Roundtables & Events” designed to bring veterans together in social settings.
The programs are being overseen by Morris County’s Veterans Services Office.
To access the Veteran and Family Counseling Program or for more information, contact Michele Walsh at 973-334-3496 ext. 515 or mwalsh@mhainspire.org.
Veterans interested in this and other services provided through Morris County may check with the Morris County Veterans Services Office website: morriscountynj.gov/Departments/Veterans-Services
