Constituency
“The victims of PTSD often feel morally tainted by their experiences, unable to recover confidence in their own goodness, trapped in a sort of spiritual solitary confinement, looking back at the rest of the world from the beyond the barrier of what happened. They find themselves unable to communicate their condition to those who remained at home, resenting civilians for their blind innocence.” The Moral Injury, David Brooks 2/17/15
Who Do Serve?
The clients whom we serve are combat veterans from the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and the Navy who have actively participated in combat operations from WWII to Iraq and Afghanistan and have experienced single or multiple traumas that have adversely or drastically affected their personal and professional lives.
The Who:
- They are from the local Los Angeles area
- They are primarily male
- They range in age from their mid-twenties to their mid- seventies
- They are high school graduates, hold bachelors degrees, masters degrees and JD degrees
- They are students, blue collar workers, white collar workers, managers, professionals, entrepreneurs and retirees
- They are unemployed, underemployed, collect Social Security, receive VA compensation where applicable and earn salaries
- They are in need of counseling that they can’t get or won’t get from the VA
- They benefit from the environment where they are safe and can interact with veterans with like experiences
- Group therapy not available from the VA for this particular cohort of combat veterans
- Referrals to VA programs that the veteran has not yet explored with the VA due to lack of knowledge or reluctance to participate
- Referrals to other veteran-centrist organizations and other NPO’s
- There are none