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Point Loma Event Aims To Help Veterans With PTSD

Dr. Howard Somers is pictured with his son Sgt. Daniel Somers and wife Jean in this undated photo. Daniel took his life in June 2013.
Jean and Howard Somers
Dr. Howard Somers is pictured with his son Sgt. Daniel Somers and wife Jean in this undated photo. Daniel took his life in June 2013.
Point Loma Event Aims To Help Veterans With PTSD
Point Loma Event Aims To Help Veterans With PTSD GUESTS:Jean and Howard Somers, founders, Operation Engage America Drew Lucas, veteran, U.S. Marine Corps

Bringing together the veterans who need help with resources available is the aim of operation engaged America. An event posting -- vets with PTSD. Is being promoted by a couple who have become nationwide advocates for PTSD awareness and treatment. Jean and Howard Summers son committed suicide after suffering for years with PTSD. They were guess on this program earlier this year and it's a pleasure to welcome them back. Thank you for coming in. Thank you for having us that also joining its through Lucas who was a veteran who served in the rack in Afghanistan. Kilby talking about history medical brain injury and is struggling PTSD. Welcome to the show. Thank you. Jean and Howard, when you think this event called operation engaged America is needed? It's needed because we are in an age of digital experience and unless you want to sit down and Google and refine Google every year. Communities have different resources for their veterans. There are 46,000 nonprofits with addition that involve veterans within the United States. But how daunting is that to try and find a single one resource that you need for yourself or for your loved one. So our aim is to have communities organizations like this where we can identify what those resources are. Brick them together in one spot so you can look at somebody wanted one, I try and say this is my problem. Are you the resource are you the one that can help me. Who is this for? Of course, the aim is to assist those with the problems. So were aiming at those with PTSD history of dramatic brain injury and of course. When we think about that we think about our veterans. We know it's not just our veterans. Fire departments going to be there. We have so many people within our communities that suffer from the same issues. We even feel it's as important if not more so, to get the people who are connected with the actual person suffering from these issues to this event. Because the community is so critical. The families are so critical in taking care of those who are suffering. They are the ones who are most likely going to recognize the issues before anybody else. Even before the person himself or herself recognizes them. One of the central issues of this conference as I understand it, is hoping to address and leave the isolation felt by veterans who are suffering with PTSD. Have you felt this isolation? Yes indeed. Coming out of the Marine Corps and war, unfortunately that's not the hardest part. Coming from brothers in arms, firing teams, this becomes isolation and dark thoughts. Just like our weapons turn into psych modes. The commitment that we live by turns into worthlessness, rage and survivor. I've dealt with it throughout the past 45 years. That is what will do it. That is what will turn you over the edge. The isolation. In reading the material involved in operation engaged America, was a lot of emphasis on person-to-person and 121. Now is a society we are so reliant on distance communication's. We find things on the Internet every text people. What's important about that one-to-one connection that you think will break this cycle? I think it's human nature. It is who we are as a people. When we talk about moving to the wild West, it was people banning together and helping one another physically. Physically being there, I think that's just so important and something that we miss. All but not everyone has this connectedness. If a constant telling of what to do. When they go away and come back. They feel that distance. I think the way you reconnect is that personal touch, if you will. Howard, when your son Daniel was hurting so much from PTSD, what kind of help is available? Apparently there was a lot, unfortunately he did not know or did not avail himself of the felt -- of the help available. One reason were putting on this event is so that people are aware of the resources that are out there. Jean and I were unaware of everything available to us and Daniel. And waste of the could've helped him. Were having for speakers at the conference and one of them is a psychologist at the VA people talking about coaching into care. This instructs loved ones and family members and friends as to how to encourage someone to get the care they need. The time Daniel was suffering did you recognize that he was going to these mental health struggles? We recognize that he was struggling, as parents we would say how he doing and he was protective. I think he was embarrassed, he was thinking we'd feel less of him if he told us he was having the problems that he was. So he presented to us what he thought we needed to see. What we really needed to see was him. And he wasn't sharing that. So much of it was because he lived in Arizona and we lived here. A lot of our communication was over the phone. Were Marines and were soldiers we don't want our parents to worry. That's a big. I didn't share anything with my mother. Coming back home we heard a few things. We have pride too much pride. I reached out and put my pride aside and started sharing things in hopes to help others and I guess it did. Your son committed suicide 2 years ago. Has the situation improved for veterans? With trauma and these invisible injuries? We think there is definitely more awareness people are less likely to talk about the issue. It could be that were more involved but I think in general you have organizations that have become much more vocal. Groups that are geared towards the post 911 veterans. We think that things have improved. They aren't great, there's more improvement that needs to be made, but we do think these are better. You said you "about this. Let me ask you some questions. When did your struggle with PTSD start? The real struggle started about three months after I got home. Just increasingly got worse. Seeing things, not sleeping, panic attacks. Everything that comes with PTSD. My situation would hinder me the most in dealing with my experiences in Afghanistan, suicide bombers. Of coarse it got worse it got darker and darker. Are the events that trigger episodes of PTSD two certainly. More so people hitting her. Women crying, there were two innocent children killed in a suicide bombing and the mother came grieving picking up there children. That certainly triggers me. When you've talked about this to people and you have opened up. Have you found there is a certain lack of understanding among people who is not been in the same environment you have? I think there is also. Is universal. Will share pain this new levels of pain. Is a mutual feeling. I think it can't quite understand but there is a level of realization. You took an interesting tack on how to cope with these thoughts that were coming up. The problems you're having was sleeping in trying to reach out to people to make that connection. You chose poetry. Tell us about that. I wasn't an artist before. It just started one day. Going on I learned I was actually doing my own type of exposure therapy with my poetry and restarting it. Writing it alone to be crying with tears and doing over and over again and tally could do it in front people. It's still hard but I learned that it helped. I gained a sense of peace that it got left in Afghanistan. It helps you but you've also found a community that is expressing themselves in this way. Absolutely. Two years ago when I shared some things, I heard from Marine friends haven't heard for the last 5 to 10 years. They showed me their poetry and all share that on Saturday. Can you share with us one of your poems? Absolutely. Do small insert of one day. Events of one day will make you change all your ways. It something we take to the grave. One day I even regretted raising my hand and fighting for this freelance. But again I wouldn't be the man that I am. I should've figured they would send me to a place for the ground. Wherever you go. Where men picked up their friends and pieces to this day. What is a Marines night sleepless. Place were innocent bodies get torn up. Work gang signs aren't blown up. It makes the hardest mansard to their stomach. It makes to flow up -- throw up, the same thing maybe go to college instead. College for me is hard as can be. I often question myself why am I here, irony have a Masters degree in life. The prereqs include one combat tour multiple times hitting the floor. The final exam includes a suicide bomb makes you lose your faith in God. I graduated with a perfect GPA I have been a 3 wars including the one I'm in today. Events of one day. Thank you very much for that. Let me get reactions to that. It's a powerful work. It is it is incredible. Thank you very much. Through will be speaking at your event. So how are things for you now true? Helping heels. I still have my days of learned to stay busy. I'm a full-time student so staying busy is key. But every day is a battle. Are you still getting treatment? To a certain extent. I still see a psychiatrist once a month. I'm not in any therapy program. Is there reason for that Mac I think just pride. But I know it helps me. I completed a long exposure session a few years ago that was the hardest thing I've done in my life. It was a 12 week program. Tell us what that was like. You go and sit in therapist office speak in first person literally was the hardest thing I've ever done. I dropped out a few times. But that's therapy. As soon as it starts getting rough I run away. That's how vets are . but it's gotten better. Stuff like this helps. I know what helps me, and that is helping others. When people attend the engage America event this Saturday, what should they expect? Will there be lectures, workshops, classes? The resource fair itself with the 70 different organizations will be ongoing between 10 AM and 4 PM. Throat the day Dew will be speaking twice. In the morning and in the afternoon, as well as other speakers. They will be in separate account classrooms. And a think Dew is a 45 minute thing. Talking, poetry, and then questions. Each speaker will do the same. We have tremendous brain injury 101. The chaplain from the local VA will be talking about combat moral injury. The last time you were here you were talking about advocating for national legislation to improve health services for veterans. What's the status of that? You can't really fix veteran mental health unless you fix mental health of the entire United States. Right now the most proactive person in Congress is representative Tim Murphy put himself is a psychologist. Who when he realized he was going to be a member of our Congress, decided to sign up to serve also. Because he felt like he could not vote issues without being a part of it. Which we think is so honorable. So he's right now the major person who's introduced it and tweaked it a little bit this year, he's promoting that at this point. I think it was in California a representative who also has some mental health legislation that she had proposed. It's starting to become an issue at that level which is the best we can ask for. We certainly hope that it will be heard by everybody and come to a vote. Which is the hardest thing for this Congress. Living tell everyone. Operation engage America takes place this Saturday from 10 AM till 4 PM. I've been speaking with Jean and Howard Summers. And Dew Lucas. Thank you.

Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury may find support and resources at a Liberty Station event in Point Loma Saturday.

Organizers of the event, Operation Engage America, hope to bring together veterans who need help and their families with the resources available from health and military organizations in San Diego County.

Jean and Howard Somers founded the event after their son Daniel, an Iraq war veteran, committed suicide in 2013 after suffering from PTSD. This is the second year his parents will host the event.

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“The aim is to assist those with the problems,” Howard Somers told KPBS Midday Edition on Wednesday. “We know it isn’t just our veterans. We have so many people in our communities who suffer from these issues.”

Jean Somers said veterans need that “personal touch” to reconnect them to civilian life after experiencing violence.

Drew Lucas, a Marine veteran who suffers from PTSD and a traumatic brain injury, agreed. He said the isolation he felt after returning from war was the hardest part about transitioning.

“Unfortunately, war is not the hard part,” Lucas said. “What will turn you over the edge is the isolation.”

The event will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Liberty Station Conference Center at 2600 Laning Road.

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For more information, go to operation-engage-america.org/san-diego.html.

Point Loma Event Aims To Help Veterans With PTSD