Heroes Among Us
PHOTO COURTESY VETERANS ON DECK
PHOTO COURTESY CANINES FOR VETERANS
BY CHRISTOPHER BERTIAUX, ALEX JONES, CHARLIE MARSHALL AND IAN TITUS
In the first hours of the morning, when most are still asleep, Riley Leonard has never been more awake. A sweat bead drips down his forehead as he holds the steering wheel with a white-knuckled grip. He drives swiftly but carefully down the rural Virginia road, as not to be seen but also not left behind. There are only two cars in sight, his and another. The other car, stopping frequently along the side of the road, is what concerns Leonard. He has seen this before. In Afghanistan, roadside bombers were a common site for Army troops. It was clear to Leonard what was going on, so he followed. He followed for several miles until he reached his home off that same road, where he could grab the 45-caliber pistol lying in his sock drawer. He planned to use this pistol to confront the second driver, and he would have if, as he pulled into his driveway, he had not first seen what the driver was leaving along the side of the road: the mail.
Leonard’s experience illustrates what veterans all over the country face every day—the difficulty of assimilating back into civilian life. They struggle with leaving the tightly wound machine of military life, where everything from their meals to their footsteps are perfectly timed, to having the freedom to do whatever they like. Some have witnessed death; others have killed. Some seek refuge at the bottom of a bottle or in complete isolation from their families and friends. Then they are thrust back into society and expected to act within social norms, but those demons drown out the calm of civilian life and make it hard to fit into a culture that’s so different from the one they’ve been built to face. Thousands of veterans face challenges on the home front long after their service has ended.
As the parades march down Main Streets across America and fathers everywhere debut their grilling prowess on Memorial Day this year, it is important to remember and honor those who have lost their lives serving this country. It is just as crucial to recognize and support those who have returned home to face a new adversary: an unfamiliar and intimidating homecoming.
Charleston, with its rich history and strong military ties, has multiple outlets for veterans returning home to overcome post-traumatic stress disorder, social reintegration, homelessness and injuries.
“In this community there are a lot of military and veterans that come to Charleston either because they were stationed around here or are retiring here,” says Jessica Zserai, director of operations and development for Veterans on Deck, a local therapeutic resource for veterans. “There’s definitely a need
for our programs that aren’t a part of Veteran’s Affairs because not every veteran wants to seek help
from them.”
Coming Home
Millennial vets from each branch of the military reflect on the support they received as they returned to civilian life
Veterans find help assimilating to life off the battlefield
A Helping Paw
Man’s best friend can also
be a soldier’s best remedy
BY CHARLIE MARSHALL
Titus is not an ordinary dog. Ask the Charleston Riverdogs’ baseball players, or any of the employees working with Canines for Veterans, the local organization where his journey began. Ordinary dogs don’t open doors or push wheelchairs. They don’t have part-time jobs as batboys, and they definitely don’t do laundry. The dogs from Canines for Vets, like Titus, do.
Canines for Veterans, a sub-program of Canines for Service, is aimed at training service dogs to assist veterans who have been left disabled from their military service. Located in North Charleston’s military prison on the Navy Consolidated Brig, Canines for Vets emphasizes a “triple win” philosophy: Rescue, Rehab, Revitalize.
Rescue
Six years ago, Titus started his incredible journey to become the amazing dog he is today. At age 1, the Labrador retriever mix was only 40 pounds, about half the weight he should have been. He was living without a home, and only days after he was rescued from Horry County Animal Shelter in Myrtle Beach, he was scheduled to be put down rather than continue to live in pain. This is where all dogs that come through the Canines for Vets program start their journeys. Titus became one of the first dogs rescued by Canines for Vets after it opened in 2008. Just like Titus, every dog is rescued from an animal shelter and trained to one day become aide for a veteran.
“All of our dogs are rescue dogs, and all of them are given a new purpose,” explains Christy Borst, a Canines for
Vets representative. “Many come from the Charleston Animal Society right here in Charleston.”
After a health and temperament assessment to assure the dogs are fit both physically and mentally to become human aides, Canines for Vets moves to the second phase of its mission.
Rehab
The next step in Titus’ journey was training. Just like the former military service men and women they will someday aid, Titus and his fellow service dogs go through an extensive program of more than 2,500 hours of basic, intermediate and advanced training. By the end of the three-year program, dogs will understand 90-plus commands ranging from retrieving items to doing laundry. All the training takes place in the military prison on the Navy Consolidated Brig and is conducted by the military prisoners themselves. This valuable time with the dogs, and the hard work and dedication to training them, gives prisoners a new purpose as well as a chance to rehabilitate in a positive way.
Revitalize
The final step and ultimate goal of Canines for Vets is to revitalize
veterans in need. Often coming back from service disabled both physically and mentally, many veterans need assistance in all areas of life. Canines for Vets dogs are trained to help with everything from pushing wheelchairs
and opening doors to retrieving items that can weigh up to 25 pounds and providing companionship to improve spirit and morale.
“The ability to take a dog that has been thrown away or unwanted for any reason and to shape it into something that can help give independence back to the veterans who fought for ours,” Borst explains, “that’s what we cherish most.”
In only its seventh year, Canines for Vets has twice received the Newman’s Own Award for program innovations supporting military and their families, and dogs like Titus continue to rehabilitate vets every day.
These days Titus has a full plate. As well as being the service dog for Rick Hairston, the president/CEO of Canines for Service, he can also be seen retrieving baseball bats at the Joseph P. Riley stadium throughout the season as the official batdog.
BY ALEX JONES
James Smith has always yearned for the salty sea air stinging his cheeks, the warmth of the sun and the gentle sprinkle of ocean mist. He spent the majority of his life on the sea as a sailor in the United States Navy. However, the taste of the sea turned sour after the war isolated Smith, and he lost his love for the sailing during an episode of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Smith, who asked to not use his real name because of the private nature of his story, suffers from PTSD, an adversary many veterans face when they return home from combat. His PTSD caused him to shut himself off from friends and family, divorce his wife and develop a serious drug and alcohol dependency. Then Smith sought help from Veterans Affairs and a Charleston organization called Veterans on Deck.
Smith and many like him set sail with Veterans on Deck each week. The program started when Dr. Ron Acierno, former director of the PTSD program at the Ralph H. Johnson Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Medical Center, noticed that after treatments, patients progressed in all but one category: social withdrawal and isolation. He developed Veterans on Deck to acclimate veterans suffering from PTSD and military sexual trauma, two common issues that hinder vets’ social reintegration, to high-stress social situations that require them to work as a team.
Veterans Set Sail
Unchartered waters for PTSD Treatment
PHOTOS COURTESY VETERANS ON DECK
Through sailing, veterans are able to develop social skills in stressful situations that require them to overcome their fears and work together to achieve a positive outcome. The program welcomes those like Smith who have sailed their entire lives, those who haven’t earned their sea legs yet and everyone in between. As they work together to stay afloat, literally, they glide through the water together.
“We can see anywhere from one to 150 individuals a month for our sails,” Zserai says, “and we have four to five sailing events a week.”
Veterans on Deck is different than most rehabilitation social events for veterans because it’s not just one gathering every once in awhile; some veterans elect to sail every day. It’s also an alternative to traditional therapy, which is important because talking about feelings is not the best treatment for everyone. “We would like to expand our sails to weekends so that our veterans in school or who have jobs can come,” Zserai says, “and we would like to create programs specifically for those struggling with substance abuse or veterans in the criminal system.”
Three years after beginning his voyage with Veterans on Deck, Smith, now sober, is one of the captains who lead the sails each week. Rain or shine, Captain Smith helps navigate the waters of rehabilitation and new members who are struggling to cope with their PTSD. Through sailing with Veterans on Deck and attending therapy sessions at the VA, Smith has learned to cope with his own PTSD symptoms, handle his anger issues and build healthy relationships. He also welcomes the ocean’s salty kisses and has fallen in love with the sea once again.
The Forgotten Veterans
A Home for Charleston’s
Homeless Veterans
BY CHRIS BERTIAUX
Memorial Day celebrates the sacrifices and successes of military service members, who are often held in high esteem by friends and family. However, many veterans, because of combat experience and the nature of military service, return home and experience hardship during the transition. For some, living with post-traumatic stress disorder, having damaged social skills or abusing drugs and alcohol became a way of life. These are the people who comprise the growing population of homeless veterans who are often overlooked and disregarded by the general public.
Everyday, people drive by these men and women as they stand on corners with their hand-written cardboard signs and tattered clothing, yet they remain unnoticed because they do not bear resemblance to the military service members they once were.
As thousands of troops return home from the Middle East and the size and needs of the homeless veteran population grow, programs and organizations have developed across the country. In downtown Charleston, tucked into back corner of Walnut Street off Meeting Street stands One80 Place. It is surrounded by low-income housing and flooded with people seeking help, but with its modern design and fortified structure, One80 Place is a beacon of hope to local homeless veterans.
“Adjusting to civilian lifestyle can be a daunting task for veterans because of experiences in combat, high suicide rates among service members, post-traumatic stress disorder and having shed their identity to become a unit in a hierarchical environment,” says Brad Cashman, director of community engagement for One80 Place. “This can cause them to become socially awkward and not hirable in the workforce.”
Such problems build over time and escalate to the point where veterans find themselves living in the streets, he explains. “There is a cycle that veterans go through in which they seek help from friends and family, but because of PTSD issues and drug and alcohol abuse, family and friends cannot handle the responsibility after a while and bridges get burned,” Cashman explains.
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'Adjusting to civilian lifestyle can be a daunting task for veterans'
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In conjunction with a national program called Zero: 2016, which aims to eliminate veteran homelessness by 2016, One80 Place started a local initiative called Supportive Services of Veteran Families (SSVF). “Part of the approach to developing SSVF was to add more beds to help with the veteran population,” Cashman explains. “The shelter went from 14 beds to 40, along with 10 beds in the family center for female veterans, after the program was implemented.” Veterans who become residents at One80 Place also have access to all of the services it offers, including health, legal and job-readiness services.
“One million veterans are considered at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks and dismal living conditions or substandard housing,” according to statistics on One80 Place veterans services’ webpage. “Twelve percent of the adult homeless population are veterans [and] 20 percent of the male homeless population are veterans.” Keeping this information in mind, take the time to recognize the forgotten veterans who at one point sacrificed so that others would not have to.
