The Governor's Focus on Returning Combat Veterans and their Families

Obama Targets Colleges’ Treatment of Veterans

Wei Li Fang, Ph.D. — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:22:33 +0000

Today President Obama is using the occasion of a visit to Fort Stewart to sign an Executive Order “to help ensure all of America’s service members, veterans, spouses, and other family members have the information they need to make informed educational decisions and are protected from aggressive and deceptive targeting by educational institutions.” By “educational institutions”, he means for-profit colleges. These colleges have been using unfair recruiting practices and taking advantage of potential students who may not be aware of all the costs associated with higher education or all the requirements needed for graduation. This issue has been discussed at the NC Governor’s Focus on Servicemembers, Veterans, and Their Familes, with the possible development of an informational brochure.

Traumatic Brain Injury: Hidden Peril of U.S. Soldiers in Combat

Wei Li Fang, Ph.D. — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:59:38 +0000

It was mid-October 2011 and first platoon had already been fighting for its life for a few days. The 10 Afghans and 26 Americans had withstood repeated assaults by an estimated 300 to 500 insurgents who had crossed the border from bases in Pakistan….The pounding that Sanes and his men took may have been intense but multiply it by hundreds and thousands of incidents over a range of severity and you have the potential causes for what may be a murkily diagnosed set of symptoms affecting U.S. servicemen and veterans. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), co-chairman of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, has called Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) “the signature injury of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.” Though no clear statistics exist for TBI, it is estimated that there are between 115,000 and 400,000 veterans who now suffer from at least mild versions of it.

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Army Policy: Deferring Mental-Health Diagnoses in War Zones

Wei Li Fang, Ph.D. — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:58:56 +0000

Some Army mental-health professionals say official instructions urging them to avoid declaring a soldier mentally ill in war zones keeps too many such ailing troops in combat. It’s part of a stretched Army’s quest to keep soldiers on the front line, they say.

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Military Study Aims to Aid Troops with Mild TBI

Wei Li Fang, Ph.D. — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:58:23 +0000

A team of experts at San Antonio Military Medical Center has launched a military study aimed at improving outcomes for service members suffering from a signature wound of today’s wars: traumatic brain injury.

The Study of Cognitive Rehabilitation Effectiveness, dubbed the SCORE trial, is examining cognitive rehabilitation therapy’s value as a treatment for service members with mild TBI.

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Army Delays Confidential Alcohol Counseling Program

Wei Li Fang, Ph.D. — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:37:01 +0000

Despite high rates of alcohol abuse, the Army has delayed for nearly three years a plan to offer all soldiers access to confidential counseling for drinking problems, a move that leaders in alcohol abuse treatment say is a mistake. The Army began a pilot program in 2009 for confidential treatment, but it continues debating what to do next because of a high dropout rate. One in four GIs now have a drinking problem, and alcohol has been linked to record numbers of suicides, sexual assaults and domestic abuse cases, Army research shows. In addition, alcohol has become a form of self-medication for soldiers suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, studies say.

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SAMHSA TIP 54: Managing Chronic Pain in Adults With or in Recovery From Substance Use Disorders

Wei Li Fang, Ph.D. — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 19:27:24 +0000

SAMHSA has issued TIP 54: Managing Chronic Pain in Adults With or in Recovery From Substance Use Disorders, which “equips clinicians with practical guidance and tools for treating chronic pain in adults with a history of substance abuse. It also discusses chronic pain management, including treatment with opioids, and offers information about substance abuse assessments and referrals.” For a digital version of TIP 54 or to order a copy from SAMHSA, please click here.

2012 VA Grant Per Diem NOFA Conference Call for Community Providers

Wei Li Fang, Ph.D. — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:13:01 +0000

The Grant and Per Diem Office will be offering 3 conference calls to review the our current Per Diem Only Notice of Funding Availability.

The calls will be for 80 minutes, with 200 lines for each call. Information about the calls will be posted on the GPD web page http://www.va.gov/HOMELESS/GPD.asp .

The dial-in number for the call will be 800-767-1750 access code 60737

The dates and times for the calls are as follows (all times are eastern time):

March 15^th 11am – 1220pm

March 22^nd 11am – 1220pm

March 29^th 1pm – 220pm

HUD Announces $201 Million in New Continuum of Care Awards

Wei Li Fang, Ph.D. — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 19:57:31 +0000

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded nearly $201 million to 731 new local homeless programs across the country. This funding provides critically needed emergency shelter, transitional housing, and permanent support for individuals and families and is a significant part of the Obama Administration’s strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness.

“This funding represents the Obama administration’s financial commitment to Opening Doors’ vision of ending chronic and Veterans homelessness by 2015, family homelessness by 2020, and setting us on a path to end all types of homelessness. It also reinforces our pledge to work in partnership with local communities to further innovative public-private partnerships,” said U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness Executive Director Barbara Poppe.

HUD recently awarded $1.47 billion to renew funding to more than 7,100 existing local homeless programs operating across the U.S. That funding ensured housing and service programs remained operating in 2012. The grants announced today will support new local programs never before funded by HUD.

“Today’s grantees will join the tens of thousands of local programs that are on the front lines of helping those who might otherwise be living on our streets,” said Donovan. “It’s incredible that, as we work to recover from the greatest economic decline since the Great Depression, the total number of homeless Americans is declining, in large part because of these funds.”

According to the latest data reported by more than 3,000 cities and counties throughout the U.S., homelessness declined 2.1 percent between 2010 and 2011 and a remarkable 12 percent among Veterans.

View the list of programs around the country that received funding

Read the full press release

Toolkit on Rapid Re-Housing for Survivors, Upcoming Webinar

Wei Li Fang, Ph.D. — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 19:54:12 +0000

The Alliance has released a toolkit designed to help communities effectively rapidly re-house survivors of domestic violence. The toolkit includes a detailed presentation on the basics of rapid re-housing and adaptations to the model that are necessary to provide survivors with the safety and stability they need. This toolkit was developed with Catalyst Consulting and Training, Clackamas Women’s Services, the District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH), Home Free (a Volunteers of America – Oregon program), and the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WSCADV).

Rapid Re-housing for Survivors Toolkit

Two webinars will be held in conjunction with the release of this toolkit. Newly announced is a webinar the Alliance is co-sponsoring with DASH and WSCADV on Thursday, March 29 at 3:00 pm ET, “Homelessness Prevention for Survivors of Domestic Violence.” The second in a series of webinars on preventing and ending homelessness for survivors, it will feature Peg Hacskaylo, Executive Director of DASH, and Linda Olsen, Housing Program Coordinator at WSCADV. The first webinar of the series, “Housing for Survivors of Domestic Violence” will take place this Thursday, March 15 at 3:00 pm ET.

Prevention for Survivors Webinar

Housing for Survivors Webinar

National Rx Drug Abuse Summit

Wei Li Fang, Ph.D. — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:57:28 +0000

We would like to pass along information pertaining to an Rx National Summit addressing the issues surrounding prescription drugs. Operation UNITE of Kentucky has organized and is hosting this event. An overview is attached and the link is http://nationalrxdrugabusesummit.org/. For those interested in attending, contact Cathy Lenox at 606-677-6179 for registration and mention Project Lazarus and receive a $100.00 discount (Online registration cannot provide the discount). The event hotel, Disney Swan, is already booked, an overflow has been established and is Lake Buena Vista at $101.00 per night, plus tax and they will have a shuttle to the event site. This discount has been arranged for North and South Carolina organizations and individuals. Feel free to pass along to those you believe may be interested. Project Lazarus will be holding a workshop at the Summit on Tuesday, April 10 from 1:00 to 2:00 PM.