Together With Veterans has been in existence for a little over four years (April 1, 2021) with a common goal to bring awareness to the stigma of mental health. We were very deliberate in selecting our steering committee, and that's paid huge dividends as we've only lost two of our original 11 members and gained one in Jane Rickenbrode. We're composed of five veterans or currently serving members, and five civilians. That includes a licensed mental health clinician, a pastor, the USD 417 Mental Health Liaison, a teacher, a currently serving E-7 AGR in the Kansas Army National Guard, a local sheriff's deputy, two military retirees and Jane, who works locally but is very involved in the community.
In our four-plus years we've conducted training for over 600 people, with the largest of those being 155 students and 10 adults at Chase County Junior/Senior High School on Jan. 23, 2025. As luck would have it, a snafu in the electronics led us to find that delivering our message without video and slides was so much more effective.
With the assistance of our two local newspapers, the Council Grove Republican and The Prairie Post (White City), all the articles we write are placed on the front page. Additionally, we asked for their assistance in working to get a solid number of veterans in the county. They did so by asking to honor veterans over Veterans Day and placing their names in the paper. From that, we were able to ascertain that there are approximately 1,079 veterans and those currently serving in Morris County. A county with a population of 5,307 - so roughly 22%. If you extrapolate that out, it would be reasonable to assume that 22% of our students are related to a veteran, thus the reason we wanted into our schools.
We originally were only going to be in Morris County, but all that changed last October when White City, which is in a cooperative with Hope, asked if we would include them. Of course we did. Then we realized we would bypass Herington and Centre and if we were going there, why not Chase County and North Lyon County? Our sphere of influence quickly moved from 900 students to 2,200 students overnight.
Not only do we offer the VA S.A.V.E. training, but we also place a strong push on resiliency and bullying, which are both prevalent in our schools. Additionally, I have been to the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) and am looking to attend the Train-the-Trainer so I can teach it.
We feel that our message is resonating with our local populace. With the attack on the stigma, we've fielded over 80 calls from concerned citizens, not just about veterans but about people of all ages. We can tell you, for a FACT, and by name, four adults - three of those veterans - and two teenagers still walking the face of the earth because SOMEONE cared enough to call and we got them help. We don't PROVIDE services, but we know those who do!
We're currently in the latter stages of an MOU with Crosswinds Counseling and Wellness out of Emporia, our local providers, as well as being housed in an office in Council Grove where we received a $5,000 Foundation for Rural Services grant for a Virtual Living Room, with two licensed clinicians. We've had more than 90 veterans and family members utilize our Virtual Living Room. Some for telehealth appointments, but the majority have been Rebecca and I assisting with claims and appeals. This includes helping an elderly veteran spouse whose husband passed away 15 years ago get a claim approved since he passed away from a service-connected disability. Our licensed clinicians also have access to our telehealth equipment and have utilized it on multiple occasions for clients who didn't want to come to the office.
While our SAL may only have one member, our post, Together With Veterans and Morris County are working hand in hand and doing amazing things in our communities and for our kids!
Jim Crosby, adjutant
Rebecca Elias, commander
