In an effort to increase awareness by Veterans of mental health and readjustment issues and encourage Veterans to seek out resources that can help them move their lives forward, we've just unveiled a new U.S. national public awareness campaign and dynamic website (although focused on the U.S., the website is accessible worldwide):

www.maketheconnection.net

The multimedia Make the Connection campaign is designed to provide information about common adjustment and mental health challenges for Veterans and their loved ones in as non-pathologizing a way as possible. There is, of course, information on the site about common mental health conditions like PTSD or depression. But there's much more info about common life experiences that we all experience (death of a friend or family member, retirement, financial issues) and common symptoms in the words that people actually use to describe them (i.e., "feeling on edge" instead of hypervigilance, or "trouble sleeping" rather than insomnia). Veterans can also link to VA resources nationwide, and thousands of resources through the National Resource Directory. But much more important than the written content on the site (and here's where I think this community will especially appreciate the work) is that dozens of Veterans (and a handful of family members) have come forward to tell their own stories on video of their challenges, how they sought treatment and other resources, and how they have moved forward with their lives in inspiring ways.

If you go to the Stories of Connection page (http://maketheconnection.net/stories-of-connection), you can see the video library (of hundreds of videos, ranging in length from 40 seconds to 7 minutes), which can be sorted on a variety of demographics and/or topics. All of the videos are also hosted on a dedicated YouTube channel for the campaign: VeteransMTC, and if you like any of them, you can easily "share" them over email, facebook, or twitter. The idea is that to try to get beyond societal stigma associated with mental health issues, Veterans can seek and listen to stories from others who are most like them - helping them contextualize their experiences by hearing things they can relate to in others' own words and learning that they are not alone. On the content pages, videos are also embedded throughout, and the content is customized (to the extent possible - we'll work over the next year to get additional videos for some of the lower base rate topics) if the user puts his or her own demographic information (completely anonymous) into the filter. For example, if you're on the Transitioning from Service page, and you indicate in the filter that you're a male OEF/OIF/OND Veteran, you get a different video than if you say you're a female Veteran, or if you're a Vietnam Veteran.

We will continue to build this resource significantly over the next year, adding both content and more of these compelling videos. I really hope that even if you don't work clinically with Veterans or don't have Veterans in your personal life, that you'll take a few minutes to watch some of these videos. Our Veterans are amazing people, and watching their strength in telling their stories (completely unscripted) is a beautiful experience. Feel free to share the link with anyone you'd like, and some of you in the U.S. may also start to see radio and tv ads, billboards, etc., to promote the campaign. Let me know what you think, and for those of you wondering - yes, we have a strong program evaluation and research plan in place to evaluate its reach and impact over the next couple of years.


Pete Bloom
Alexandria, Va.