WASHINGTON — An official from the Little Rock Veterans Center said Monday that she and her colleagues are making strides in helping troops reintegrate into civilian life, but they remain concerned that resources are stretched too thin in some parts of Arkansas, especially the southeast.
Speaking at the Fifth Annual Defense Forum in Washington, Col. Nicole Keesee, a social worker who specializes in working with veterans in and around Little Rock, said the differences between military and civilian life are vast and soldiers often have a hard time adjusting.
Little Rock's Col. Nicole Keesee, LCSW, discussed issues with programs designed to assist troops reintegrating into civilian society at a panel in Washington for the fifth annual Defense Forum hosed by the U.S. Naval Institute and the Military Officers Association of America. (Laura Phelps/MNS)
“Our biggest challenge is reaching out to the beneficiaries — the people who need us, and it’s those people who are less likely to reach out,” she said after a panel discussion organized by the Military Officers Association of America and the U.S. Naval Institute.
Keesee also said she’s worried southeast Arkansas is particularly underserved. There are veterans centers in North Little Rock and Fayetteville, as well as a mobile center that traverses the state.
The center’s counselors also make regular trips to Batesville, Pine Bluff, Searcy, Russellville, Mountain View, Cabot, Malvern and Fordyce.
Keesee is one of a staff of five at the Little Rock Veterans Center, based in North Little Rock, trying to provide counseling to the entire state. Each has a caseload of 70 to 120 people. A marriage and family therapist will join the staff in November.
According to a Department of Veterans Affairs release, 257,625 veterans lived in Arkansas in 2010, and about 47 percent of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have sought VA health care when returning home.
Keesee said returning soldiers face a variety of struggles, including hypervigilence, which is an important skill during battle but can foster aggression and paranoia in postcombat life.
An environment of obedience prepares soldiers to take and give orders, but civilians are expected to use critical-thinking skills to make decisions on their own, she added.
Other panel members complained that many of the people treating veterans are civilians who have never worn a uniform.
“Many of these providers who come in don’t understand military culture,” said David Brown, a clinical psychologist and expert in suicide prevention for the Personnel and Readiness branch of the federal secretary of defense’s office. “It’s analogous to someone who’s never had a drink in their life treating an alcoholic.”
Keesee said her familiarity with military life helps establish a connection for veterans who don’t have to spend time explaining acronyms or the challenges of enlisted life.
Service members often have a hard time adjusting to civilian life, and the benefits packages they receive can be difficult to decipher, she said.
The websites that list available resources are hard to navigate and give the impression that the VA does not care, she said. Her North Little Rock office struggles to reach out to everyone, she said, and many people who need its services don’t even know the office is there to help veterans and their families — free of charge.
“After 30 years, I’m very surprised that very few people know about it,” she said.
Additionally, she said she’s researching providing health care through telecommunications and how the center might be able to implement more counseling services for people in rural areas.