Military veterans in South County looking for support now have a place to go.
The Chula Vista Civic Center Library at 365 F St. is home to Vet-to-Vet, a peer support program that utilizes veterans in a peer mentoring capacity to help other veterans.
The group meets Monday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and an array of topics that veterans deal with get discussed. Topic discussions include but are not limited to survivor’s guilt, PTSD, depression, isolation, trust and mistrust issues. Current events and politics surrounding the military are also discussed.
“The idea is if you complete a class at the VA like an anger management or PTSD class after 22 weeks or like a year they say ‘have a nice day,’” said group founder Michael Silverman. “So Vet-to-Vet is kind of a follow-up to existing programs. It is not meant to replace traditional programs; however, it is therapeutic.”
Vet-to-Vet, a national organization, started in Boston. Then Silverman, a former veterans counselor who has a degree in psychology, saw a need for a group in San Diego and brought it to the VA hospital in La Jolla about seven years ago.
The Chula Vista group has been active for less than a month and currently has seven active members who are veterans of every military branch, men and women, young and old. There is no cost to be a member nor are there participation requirements. Members can show up to meetings whenever they like.
Silverman said the meetings are peaceful and provide an outlet for veterans.
“We create a space for two hours a week where veterans are in a safe atmosphere.”
The group, although still in its infancy, is already making a difference. Silverman said a 23-year-old veteran came with his mother for a session and revealed that he had been dealing with suicidal thoughts.
He said group members rallied around the man and helped him break through those thoughts. Silverman said today the man is a member of the group and is using his experience to help others.
Silverman said suicide plagues veterans. According to a 2012 study by the Veterans Affairs, there are 22 veteran suicides per day.
Silverman, 71, is a 22-year veteran in the United States Navy where he was a corpsman during the Vietnam War.
He said not only does the group help veterans but it also helps him cope with survivor’s guilt because he was one of 40 corpsmen out of 165 in his class to come back alive and he often wonders why he was one of the lucky ones.
The group’s motto is “Gladly Teach, Gladly Learn” because Silverman said at any point a member can be teaching and providing support to someone and at the next meeting could be learning and receiving help.
Silverman said the group provides veterans a chance to relate with each other.
“How do you explain to someone who has never been in the military what it’s like to be in combat? How do they understand what a veteran is going through?” he said. “What better people to talk to about this than those who have lived it.”
