With the number of veterans who commit suicide growing, it is our collective responsibility to better meet their mental health needs. We must do more to ensure they have a roof over their heads, food to eat, medical care, and access to robust mental health services. On Veterans Day the Steinberg Institute honors the The Soldiers Project, a non-profit dedicated to helping post 9/11 veterans and their loved ones work through the psychological trauma that war leaves behind. As a local and national leader they provide free, unlimited, individualized counseling to veterans regardless of discharge status, active duty soldiers, family members, and friends or relatives.
They do this work because the need is so great and simply put, it is the right thing to do. This mission driven approach is inspiring and is helping meet the needs of the veteran community here is Sacramento, across California and the nation. The Soldiers Project provides these services to service members of every branch of the military with a nationwide network of more than 400 psychologists, marriage and family counselors, social workers and psychiatrists who donate their services pro-bono.
“The mission of The Soldiers Project is to give something back and help our veterans who have sacrificed so much for our country,” said Adam M. Greenwald, MBA, executive director for The Soldiers Project. “The support and dedication of our volunteer therapists in Sacramento helps make that transition into everyday life a little easier for our heroes.”
“Like the Steinberg Institute, we have a shared mission in providing awareness and access to vital mental health services in helping underserved populations,” said Shing Long, Sacramento Chapter Director for The Soldiers Project. “With 30 dedicated volunteer therapists in Sacramento, we can help our veterans cope and adjust to the many related issues of coming home from war.”
To arrange for no-cost, confidential and unlimited counseling services, Sacramento clients can call the Sacramento branch of The Soldiers Project at (877) 577-5888. Within 24-48 hours, a member of the Sacramento office will conduct a brief client screening process and assign a licensed therapist to the specific therapy needs and location of the client. Individual, couples and family counseling are available. To find out more about The Soldiers Project, please visit www.TheSoldiersProject.org.
We can best thank our veterans for their service and sacrifice through how we treat them, how we support them and their families, and how we create pathways here at home for them to lead successful, healthy lives. The Soldiers Project is an inspiring example of this mission in action, one the Steinberg Institute is proud to share.