Veterans Services Aids Those with Emotional, Mental Health Needs

The Veterans Services Office looks to assist servicemen and women who struggle with emotional or mental health needs.

Putnam County Veterans Services Officer Mark Harris says the organization tries to guide those in need of help to the proper resources.

“What we do is we help them put their claim together,” Harris says. “First of all they have to have a diagnosis of some sort of mental issue – whether it’s depression, anxiety, or anything else – and we put the claim together, the documentation, and we help them get the support information they need.”

Harris says approximately three to five veterans visit the office each month seeking emotional or mental health support. However, Harris adds no two cases are alike and can often come with a variety of symptoms.

“It can either be depression, it can be anxiety, it can be different forms of issues that they have before it’s either diagnosed that way, or it’s diagnosed as post-traumatic stress,” Harris says. “Based off of their response, that’s when we kind of suggest… seeing the outpatient clinic or if they’ve been seen already.”

Harris notes it’s important for veterans to spot the signs of potential mental or emotional health struggles as soon as possible before it begins to worsen.

“A lot of times [patients] don’t realize they’re suffering from that but they know they have an issue,” Harris says. “There’s many times we have somebody in our office and they’ll share their story, which triggers us to realize that we need to file a claim for them to get the process going.”

Cumberland and Pickett Counties hold the highest veteran population density in the region, according to a 2017 report by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

28-year-old Marine Veteran Ian Long killed 12 people in California last week. Neighbors of Long recalled of erratic and sometimes raging behavior from the former Marine. Authorities say some of his previous outbursts may have been caused by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Harris encourages struggling veterans in need of immediate assistance to call the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255.