Links & Books

Toll-Free Help Lines

For immediate or emergency assistance, call:

VA Suicide Prevention Hotline - 1-800-273-8255

The National Veterans' Foundation - 1-800-777-4443

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - 1-877-247-4645

FILM-RELATED WEBSITES

Where Soldiers Come From: Filmmaker Website
Visit the official site for Where Soldiers Come From and get more information about the filmmaker, local screenings and press reviews.

Where Soldiers Come From: Digital Release

Where Soldiers Come From is now available on demand! Download the movie and watch it today.

RESOURCES

Psychological Health

Afterdeployment.org
This mental wellness resource supports service members, their families and veterans in handling common post-deployment challenges. This online community provides self-care solutions targeting post-traumatic stress, depression and other behavioral health challenges.

Comfort for America's Uniformed Services
Comfort for America's Uniformed Services, a nonprofit organization founded by four West Point graduates and their wives, provides relaxation and recreation to members of the U.S. Armed Forces recuperating from wounds and injuries suffered in Iraq and Afghanistan. All the group's programs -- a digital entertainment library, massage and Reiki programs, Sunday brunches and picnics Fisher House dinners, gift packs and live broadcasts of sporting events -- take place in residential outpatient facilities located on military medical campuses; this deliberate proximity is designed to reduce the isolation and depression that often accompanies severe injury by creating opportunities for wounded military to interact with one another and with volunteers from the wider community.

Connected Warriors
Connected Warriors is a charitable organization whose mission is to teach proven yoga techniques to military veterans and their families through a nationwide network of volunteer teachers. The organization currently offers classes at local yoga studios, vet centers run by the Department of Veterans Affairs and other donated spaces. Future plans include establishing yoga teaching and retreat centers for military veterans around the country.

Fred Friendly Seminars
For more than 25 years, televised Fred Friendly Seminars have added a unique dimension to public affairs programming on PBS. Exploring urgent social and public policy issues, the seminars invite PBS viewers to struggle with gripping dilemmas drawn from real scenarios facing Americans and determine what their own choices would be if faced with these challenges. Today, the Fred Friendly Seminars are creating a multimedia platform, MINDS ON THE EDGE: Facing Mental Illness, to carry the legacy of this distinguished television.

Hidden Wounds
The mission of Hidden Wounds is to provide peace of mind and comfort through counseling to military personnel coping with combat stress injuries, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and other psychological post-war concerns. The organization serves as a liaison between counselors and veterans, as well as their families, to help dispel fear, reduce the stigma and help veterans overcome emotional and psychological
challenges.

Home Front Hearts
The mission of Home Front Hearts is to serve the families that serve the United States by providing them with support and resources, increasing public awareness of their struggles and sacrifices and engaging both individuals and businesses in building communities that are responsive to their needs. When service members deploy, spouses are left juggling children, work, school and household responsibilities, and they must address whatever else needs doing in the absence of their loved ones. Home Front Hearts is committed to making sure that military families have access to the "military friendly" resources that will best serve their needs.

Honor for ALL
Honor for ALL is a nonprofit organization that promotes the recognition and honor of past and present service members coping with post-traumatic stress disorder and minor traumatic brain injury. The organization's mission is to raise awareness of the invisible
wounds of war by sponsoring and hosting educational forums and public events.

Horses Healing Heroes
Horses Healing Herores
Horses Healing Heroes utilizes equine-assisted psychotherapy to combat the damaging effects traumatic events can have on an individual's life. The organization uses its Release, Readjust and Reconnect program to help service members and veterans -- as well as police officers, firefighters, prison guards and children -- suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to begin the process of healing by overcoming their fears and building confidence.

Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International
Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International changes and enriches lives by promoting excellence in equine-assisted activities and therapies. The organization helps and supports more than 42,000 men, women and children with special needs each year through a variety of programs. Specifically, the Horses for Heroes program helps military service members and veterans overcome physical, mental and psychological wounds by promoting healing through equine-assisted therapies.

Real Warriors Campaign
The Real Warriors Campaign is an initiative launched by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury to promote the processes of building resilience, facilitating recovery and supporting reintegration of returning service members, veterans and their families. The Real Warriors Campaign combats the stigma associated with seeking psychological health care and treatment and encourages service members to increase their awareness and use of these resources.

Traumatic Brain Injury

American Veterans with Brain Injuries
This group provides a peer chat room and forum for American service members and veterans, as well as for family members and caregivers. Both the forum and chat room are interactive and designed for participants to ask questions, get information and share personal experiences with others.

Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA)
The Brain Injury Association of America was founded in 1980. Its mission is "creating a better future through brain injury prevention, research, education and advocacy." The organization's website offers extensive resources and links to related websites.

BrainLine.org
BrainLine.org is a national multimedia project offering information and resources for preventing, treating and living with TBI. BrainLine.org is a service of WETA, the public television and radio station in Washington, D.C., and is funded by the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center through a contract with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation.

Brain Trauma Foundation
The Brain Trauma Foundation is dedicated to improving the outcomes for traumatic brain injury patients worldwide by developing best practices guidelines, conducting clinical research and educating medical professionals and consumers. Its efforts also focus on public education aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of the symptoms of a concussion. The group's goal is to better educate coaches, nurses, athletes, parents and all citizens about the importance of recognizing concussions and taking the appropriate steps to ensure people receive appropriate care.

DVBIC-Charlottesville Rehabilitation Programs
DVBIC-Charlottesville Rehabilitation Programs, in Charlottesville, Virginia, provides a community integrated brain injury rehabilitation program, comprehensive evaluation, outpatient therapy clinic, vocational training and innovative community re-entry services for military and civilians with brain injury. DVBIC-Charlottesville is a national leader in developing treatment modules for community reintegration and evolving use of technology aids. Its experienced rehabilitation team and scientific agenda promote optimal treatment.

DVBIC-Johnstown
DVBIC-Johnstown is the combination of multiple sites in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. These sites include a community re-entry program and an outpatient clinic. DVBIC-Johnstown is committed to improving the lives of military personnel and veterans with traumatic brain injuries by maximizing independence and facilitating re-entry into family and community life. Treatment programs are client-centered and family-centered, transdisciplinary and innovative.

The Journey Home
The Journey Home website, administered by the Center of Excellence for Medical Multimedia, provides an informative and sensitive exploration of TBI, including information for patients, family members and caregivers. Topics include types and symptoms of brain injury, TBI treatment and recovery and helpful insights about the potential long-term effects of brain injury. Animation is used to help patients clearly understand the brain and the results of injuries to different parts of the brain. Survivors and their caregivers share courageous stories about their own experiences, providing down-to-earth facts along with inspiration and hope.

National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA)
The National Association of State Head Injury Administrators (NASHIA) is a nonprofit organization created by state government employees administering public programs for individuals with traumatic brain injury and their families. NASHIA assists state governments in promoting partnerships and building systems to meet the needs of individuals with brain injury. NASHIA provides information on state contacts, public programs and resources within states; hosts a website containing materials and information; sponsors an annual national conference; provides training through webcasts and radiocasts; monitors state and federal public policies and legislation; and advocates for public policies and funding to assist states in better meeting the needs of individuals with traumatic brain injury and their families.

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCICP)
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCICP), at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, supports data collection and follow-up studies in more than 15 states to track and monitor TBI in the United States, link people with TBI to information about services and find ways to prevent TBI-related disabilities. The center's website offers fact sheets about traumatic brain injury, including information on the problem, consequences, causes, cost, groups at risk, collaborating organizations and references.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Created in 1950, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke aims to reduce the burden of neurological disease -- found in every age group, every segment of society and all over the world. The group's TBI information page includes extensive resources and links to related websites.

Swords to Plowshares
War causes wounds and suffering that last beyond the battlefield. Swords to Plowshares' mission is to heal those wounds, restore dignity, hope and self-sufficiency to all veterans in need and significantly reduce homelessness and poverty among veterans.

Military Families

American Gold Star Mothers
Shortly after World War I, American Gold Star Mothers Inc. was formed in the United States to provide support for mothers who had lost sons or daughters in the war. It was customary for families of servicemen to hang banners bearing stars in the windows of their homes.

Army Wife Network
Army Wife Network provides interactive empowerment with the Army Wife Talk Radio podcast, live chat feature, columns, the Loving a Soldier blog, message boards, military shopping links, a resource database and social media galore. The group's Field Exerciseâ„¢ events are a grassroots seminar series designed to rejuvenate military spouses.

Association of the United States Army: Family Programs
The Association of the United States Army's Family Programs directorate is dedicated to providing Army families with information and resources to help them manage the challenges of military life. The organization also works to address Army family concerns through its legislative efforts and by being active on a number of Department of Defense and Department of the Army councils and working groups.

Blue Star Families
Blue Star Families provides online and physical chapter-based communities by serving as a bridge between families and support and service organizations that help make military life more sustainable through outreach and involvement with national and local organizations, civilian communities and government entities.

Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc.
Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. is a non-partisan, non-political organization that believes the military represents all aspects of the United States, so it attempts to do so as well. Blue Star Mothers of America comprises mothers who now have, or have had, children honorably serving in the military. It is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) veterans service organization.

Gold Star Wives of America, Inc.
Gold Star Wives of America, Inc. is an organization made up of widows and widowers whose spouses died while on active duty in the military services, or as the result of service-connected causes. Through its advocacy and programs, Gold Star Wives of America works to provide service, support and friendship to its members and fellow widows and widowers around the country.

Military Child Education Coalition
The Military Child Education Coalition works to ensure that quality educational opportunities are available for all military-connected children affected by mobility, family separation and transition. The Military Child Education Coalition performs research, develops resources, conducts professional institutes and conferences and publishes resources for all constituencies.

National Military Family Association (NMFA)
The National Military Family Association (NMFA) educates military families concerning their rights, benefits and services available to them and the issues that affect their lives. NMFA provides resources and programs to educate the public, the military community and Congress on the rights and benefits of military families and to advocate an equitable quality of life for those families. NMFA sponsors Operation Purple Camps for children of deployed service members in many U.S. military communities around the world.

Soldier's Heart
Soldier's Heart has created a comprehensive model to address the emotional, moral and spiritual needs of veterans, their families and communities. By creating a network of community based services, Soldier's Heart seeks to facilitate a healthier and more successful reintegration for veterans. In addition to providing direct services, Soldier's Heart helps educate communities on how to start support services for veterans and their families and conducts seminars to train other professionals in the unique needs of veterans.

Strategic Outreach to Families of All Reservists
Strategic Outreach to Families of All Reservists is a nonprofit mental health organization that provides free support, therapy and preventive services to the extended family of National Guard and Reservists who have served or are serving in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Talking With Heroes
Talking With Heroes gives military personnel an opportunity to share their stories of service with people back home. The Talking With Heroes team interviews service members in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as gold star mothers and fathers, military wives, wounded warriors and veterans to collect stories of hope and progress. The team produces a weekly radio program and numerous video segments.

United Services Organization (USO)
Millions of times each year at thousands of locations around the world, the United Services Organization (USO) lifts the spirits of troops and their families. A nonprofit, congressionally chartered, private organization, the USO relies on the generosity of individuals, organizations and corporations to support its activities. The USO is not part of the U.S. government, but it is recognized by the Department of Defense and Congress, as well as the president, who serves as its honorary chairman.

Housing Assistance

Challenge America
Challenge America provides support to returning service members and their families
by connecting them to services in their communities that help ease the transition from
the battlefield to the home front. The organization also supports the development of
recreational, occupational and housing programs to better serve wounded service members in their home communities.

Legal Assistance

The American Bar Association Military Pro Bono Project
The American Bar Association Military Pro Bono Project works to place military personnel and their families with pro bono attorneys to address civil legal issues. The Project is also the home of Operation Stand-By, which helps military attorneys see attorney-to-attorney advice, and The American Bar Association Veterans' Claims Assistance Network, which helps veterans through the process of filing claims for expedited review by the VA at no cost.

Swords to Plowshares
Swords to Plowshares has an Iraq Veteran Project that provides a free legal representation for VA claims and military discharge reviews, as well as social services and benefits counseling. Services are available to all Global War on Terror veterans, former active duty service members, Guard or Reserve, with any type of discharge.

The National Veterans Legal Services Program
NVLSP assists OIF/OEF active duty and service members and veterans with disability discharge issues or with obtaining VA benefits.

Education Assistance (Scholarships & Grants)

American Legion Auxiliary
ALA offers a non-traditional student scholarship for members of The Legion Family pursuing a college degree later in life.

AMVETS Scholarships
Every year, AMVETS awards scholarships to veterans/active military and their children or grandchildren.

Fisher House Programs
In recognition of the contribution of military families, Fisher House Foundation offers scholarships for military spouses and children.

Folds of Honor Foundation
The Folds of Honor Foundation provides post-secondary educational scholarships for children and spouses of military service members killed or disabled while serving.

GI Bill
The GI Bill provides many educational benefits for veterans and their families. See the Background Section of this guide for more information on the GI Bill.

National Resource Directory
The National Resource Directory is an online partnership of "shared care" that provides information on, and access to, services and resources for wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans, their families and families of the fallen and those who support them in every aspect, from recovery and rehabilitation to community reintegration. It is maintained by the Departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs. The information in the directory is drawn from federal, state and local governmental agencies; veteran service and benefit organizations; nonprofit community-based and faith-based organizations; academic institutions, professional associations and philanthropic organizations.

SR Education Group
SR Education Group is awarding a need-based scholarship to active military and veteran students.

General Support For Veterans

America's Heroes at Work
This initiative from the U.S. Department of Labor focuses on the employment challenges of returning service members living with TBI and/or PTSD.

American Pain Foundation
The American Pain Foundation works to improve the quality of life for people with pain by raising public awareness, providing practical information, promoting research and advocating to increase access to effective pain management. Through its advocacy and support, the American Pain Foundation aims to provide practical, up-to-date, scientifically sound information about pain and pain management.

American Red Cross
The American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces division provides around the clock humanitarian support to service members, veterans and their families worldwide. Programs include emergency communications, support to military and veteran medical care facilities and social services to families, including two mental health support courses.

Armed Services YMCA
The Armed Services YMCA is the preeminent social services provider of resiliency programs to junior enlisted men, women and their families. Through its network of branches and YMCA affiliates across the country, the organization partners with nonprofits and foundations serving service members and their families. It also offers essential programs, such as child care, hospital assistance, spouse support services, food services, computer training classes, health and wellness services and holiday meals. In 2009 alone, more than 9,400 individuals nationwide donated more than 169,000 hours of service in support of the organization.

Coalition for Iraq + Afghanistan Veterans
The Coalition for Iraq + Afghanistan Veterans is a national non-partisan partnership of organizations committed to working with and on behalf of all military personnel, veterans, families, survivors and providers to strengthen the existing system of care and support for all those affected by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Comprising more than 52 agencies throughout the nation, the Coalition for Iraq + Afghanistan Veterans serves myriad needs associated with deployment, including employment and legal services, scholarships and financial assistance, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury services and programs for military families and surviving loved ones.

Iraq Veterans Against the War
Members of this advocacy organization explain why they oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and call for immediate withdrawal of troops.

Military Officers Association of America
The Military Officers Association of America is the nation's largest association of active duty, National Guard, Reserve, retired and former military officers and their families and survivors, and is the fourth largest veterans' association in the country, with more than 370,000 members. The association promotes a strong national defense by advocating equitable treatment of those who serve and have served their country in uniform.

National Veterans Foundation
The mission of the National Veterans Foundation is to serve the crisis management, information and referral needs of all U.S. veterans and their families through management and operation of the nation's only toll-free helpline for all veterans and their families. The foundation has a new program dedicated to the TBI issues of military personnel.

Not Alone
Not Alone provides no-cost programs and services to service members and families impacted by combat stress and PTSD. At Not Alone.com, members can participate in online group sessions, workshops and training. Topics of discussion center around the issues service members, veterans and families face every day when dealing with life after war. Not Alone provides face-to-face counseling, as well as a 24-hour crisis line.

ReMIND
This arm of the Bob Woodruff Foundation educates the public about the needs of injured service members, veterans and their families as they reintegrate into their communities and empowers people everywhere to take action.

Student Veterans of America
Student Veterans of America is a coalition of student veteran groups from college campuses across the United States. Founded in January 2008, Student Veterans of America works to develop new student groups, coordinate between existing student groups and advocate on behalf of student veterans at the local, state and national level.

Wounded Warrior Project
The vision of the Wounded Warrior Project is to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded warriors in the history of the United States. The project's programs are structured to nurture the mind and body and encourage economic empowerment and engagement.

POV. "Regarding War."
This 2010 blog features posts by soldiers, veterans and journalists who have had "boots on the ground" in Afghanistan and Iraq. The site also includes links to organizations serving veterans and military families.

U.S. Department of Defense
The Department of Defense provides employment opportunities for disabled men and women who honorably served on behalf of their country. As the largest federal employer of veterans, it is committed to providing every disabled veteran who wants to serve the country as a civil servant the opportunity to do so.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
The goal of this government department is to provide excellence in patient care, veterans' benefits and customer satisfaction. Of the 25 million veterans currently alive, nearly three of every four served during a war or an official period of hostility. About one quarter of the nation's population -- approximately 70 million people -- are potentially eligible for Veterans Affairs benefits and services because they are veterans or family members or survivors of veterans.

Healthcare

Deployment Health Clinical Center
Deployment Health Clinical Center launched its website in 2001 to assist busy clinicians in the delivery of post-deployment health care. It represents a comprehensive source of deployment-related health information for both healthcare providers and service members, veterans and family members.

Disabled American Veterans
For 90 years, Disabled American Veterans has been dedicated to building better lives for disabled veterans and their families. By providing free claims representation before the Department of Veterans Affairs, the organization has helped approximately 250,000 veterans receive the benefits they have earned. Disabled American Veterans also provides a voice for disabled veterans and their families in Washington, D.C., and works with lawmakers to ensure that the United States honors its obligations to those who have served and sacrificed. As part of its commitment to service, the organization maintains a nationwide network of volunteers, who provide free transportation for sick and disabled veterans to and from veterans' facilities.

My HealtheVet
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs administers these online personal health records. The service is growing fast and welcomes more than 181,000 veterans nationwide each week.

The National Military Family Association
The National Military Family Association is a non-profit organization serving military families through programs focused on child care, accessible health care, spouse employment, education, retirement and bereavement support. Programs include Operation Purple summer camp, a free program for children with deployed parents, retreats to help military families reconnect after long separations or a war-related injury, and research to assess the military environment and its effect on families.

Veterans Health Administration
The mission of the Veterans Health Administration is "to serve the needs of America's veterans by providing primary care, specialized care and related medical and social support services."

Warrior Gateway
The Warrior Gateway program has been designed to promote easier reintegration into home communities. It serves as a trusted, reliable and free resource that members of the military community can use to locate service organizations that satisfy their needs, identify academic programs that interest them and easily find employers seeking their valuable skills, while enabling improvements in the service provider sector through metrics and collaboration.

Tricare
TRICARE is the United States military's healthcare plan for military personnel, military retirees and their beneficiaries.

Financial Assistance

Free Tax Preparation for Veterans and Service members
Turbo Tax online has a page that offers free federal and state e-filing for veterans and servicemembers.

Reserve Aid
Reserve Aid is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to providing financial support to the families of Reserve Service Members from all services, who have been called to active duty and are experiencing financial difficulty.

Operation Homefront
Operation Homefront provides emergency financial assistance and other support to the families of service members and those wounded on duty. The organization provides direct services, including food, home repairs and furniture, as well as counseling and recovery support to alleviate any financial burdens borne by military families or individuals. Operation Homefront currently provides services across the nation through 23 chapters serving 32 states.

Vocational and Employment Assistance

America's Heroes at Work
This initiative from the U.S. Department of Labor focuses on the employment challenges of returning service members living with TBI and/or PTSD.

Armed Forces Foundation
The Armed Forces Foundation provides comfort and solace to members of the military community in the form of financial support, career counseling, housing assistance and recreational therapy programs. Programs offered include a family assistance program and traumatic brain injury outreach programs. Armed Forces Foundation programs are available to service members, veterans, members of the National Guard and Reserve and their families.

Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program
This program provides assistive technology and services to wounded service members in their rehabilitation process and employment search. Accommodations are available for service members with injuries ranging from vision/hearing loss, dexterity impairments and Traumatic Brain Injuries.

Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is a service provided by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy. JAN's mission is to facilitate the employment and retention of workers with disabilities by providing employers, employment providers,people with disabilities, their family members and other interested parties with information on job accommodations, entrepreneurship and related subjects.

Military to Medicine
Military to Medicine offers state-of-the-art career preparation and assessment to help facilitate careers in health care for military veterans and their families. Military to Medicine's network of hospital employer partners reaches across the country and to countries around the world. A dedicated staff of veterans and military spouses provides coaching and support and referral to resources for those who may be struggling with reintegration. Military to Medicine also offers a no-cost assessment that measures cognitive ability, which can aid in identifying lingering damage from combat-related stress and brain injury.

Operation Warfighter
The Department of Defense is sponsoring Operation Warfighter, a temporary assignment/ internship program for service members who are convalescing at military treatment facilities in the national capital region.

Project: Return to Work
Project: Return to Work, a nonprofit organization established in 1998, provides personalized vocational rehabilitation and employment services to Americans with disabilities, including recently injured soldiers returning from Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations around the world. Project: Return to Work provides each client with specialized vocational evaluations, career counseling services, job development support, individualized work plans and entry into a nationwide database reaching over 10,000 employers to help individuals transition back into the workforce. Project: Return to Work clients receive continuous support from caring and personable employment counselors.

Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop's Talk, Listen, Connect initiative uses the friendly and familiar Muppet characters to provide resources for military families with young children coping with issues related to deployments, changes from combat-related injuries or the death of a parent. On there are extensive video and print resources on these topics, as well as child-friendly tools that can be used to create a family network and stay connected.

VetSuccess
This program's primary function is to help veterans who have service-connected disabilities become suitably employed, maintain employment or achieve independence in daily living.

Vocational Rehabilitation and Information
The Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Benefits Administration's vocational rehabilitation and employment service is vested with delivering timely, effective vocational rehabilitation services to veterans with service-connected disabilities. Enabling injured soldiers, sailors, airmen and other veterans with disabilities to perform seamless transitions from military service to successful rehabilitation and then go on to suitable employment.

Hearing and Service Animals

ECAD
ECAD (Educated Canines Assisting With Disabilities) aims to train and place assistance dogs to help people with disabilities gain independence and mobility. With training facilities in Connecticut and New York, ECAD has placed assistance dogs in over a dozen states since 1995. Through Project HEAL, ECAD offers veterans the opportunity to utilize its services and service-dog training program to help rebuild and better their lives.

Patriot PAWS Service Dogs
Patriot PAWS Service Dogs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that trains service dogs for disabled veterans. Training a certified service dog can take more than two years and costs $25,000 to $30,000; a wounded veteran receives each dog free of charge. The facility is located in Rockwall, Texas.

Pets for Patriots, Inc.
Pets for Patriots helps veterans, wounded military and service members in transition through companion pet adoption. The charity supports the honorable adoption of adult shelter pets, large dogs and special needs dogs and cats by veterans at any stage of their military careers and from any branch of service.

Women Veterans

Grace After Fire
Grace After Fire was founded to serve women veterans from all eras and branches of service. A virtual organization that reaches across the nation, Grace After Fire provides an online community where women veterans and their family members can connect with each
ther and the group's professional partners to find resources, learn and get involved.

New Directions Women's Program
The New Directions Women's Program is a place for female veterans who have served in any branch of the armed forces. The program is based in two residential homes in the Mar Vista area on the Westside of Los Angeles and the houses are divided according to phases of treatment.

For Practitioners

Alliant International University Continuing Education
The continuing education department at Alliant International University has developed a comprehensive suite of classes to help prepare clinicians to work effectively with returning veterans and their families. Delivered online, the classes are convenient, informative and engaging. The introductory classes are among the lengthiest and most substantive continuing education courses that Alliant International University provides and are available (without credit) for free to all interested parties.

American Music Therapy Association
The American Music Therapy Association's purpose is the progressive development of the therapeutic use of music in rehabilitation, special education and community settings. The American Music Therapy Association is committed to the advancement of education, training, professional standards, credentials and research in support of the music therapy profession.

The Soldiers Project
The Soldiers Project is a group of volunteer, licensed psychological health professionals who provide free counseling to service members, members of the National Guard and Reserve and veterans who have served or expect to serve in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Soldiers Project's services focus on helping service members, veterans and their families cope with stressors commonly experienced throughout the deployment cycle.

Art and The Military

Combat Paper Project
The Combat Paper Project utilizes art workshops to assist veterans in reconciling and sharing their personal experiences, as well as broadening the traditional narrative surrounding service and the military culture.

National Veterans Art Museum
The National Veterans Art Museum inspires greater understanding of the real impact of war with a focus on the Vietnam War. The museum collects, preserves and exhibits art inspired by combat and created by veterans.

They Drew Fire
During World War II, more than 100 U.S. servicemen and civilians served as combat artists. Using paintbrushes and pens, they depicted the war as they experienced it. Their stories have never been told, and for 50 years their artwork, consisting of more than 12,000 pieces was largely forgotten -- until now. This website is a companion to the PBS documentary They Drew Fire, which originally aired in May 2000. The site hosts an extensive art gallery that displays the pieces shown in the film, as well as other paintings by combat artists.

Just Wait
Justwait.us is dedicated to ending the epidemic of military spouse suicide through creating a space where military spouses can share stories and view art created by other military spouses.

Service Branch Programs

Air Force Wounded Warrior (AFW2)
This is the site the U.S. Air Force uses to take care of its "wounded warriors." It works to keep highly skilled men and women on active duty, or, if this is not feasible, to ensure that they receive enhanced assistance through the AFW2 program.

American Legion
The American Legion was chartered and incorporated by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans' organization devoted to mutual helpfulness. It is the nation's largest veterans service organization, committed to mentoring and sponsoring youth programs in communities, advocating patriotism and honor and promoting strong national security.

Armed Forces Crossroads
This is the official community website of the United States Armed Forces.

Army Reserve Family Programs
Army Reserve Family Programs offer education, training, awareness, outreach, information, referral and follow-up.

Army Well-Being
This page offers a comprehensive online overview of well-being programs from the U.S. Army.

Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS)
Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) exists to serve Marines and their families wherever they are stationed. MCCS programs and services provide for basic life needs, such as food and clothing, social and recreational needs and even prevention and intervention programs to combat societal ills that inhibit positive development and growth.

Military Homefront
This is the U.S. Department of Defense website for official military community and family policy program information, policy and guidance. It is designed to help troops and their families, leaders and service providers.

Military ONESOURCE
Military ONESOURCE serves as a 24/7 resource for military members, spouses and families.

National Guard Family Program
The National Guard Family Program website aims to serve as a "one-stop shop" for information on programs, benefits, resources and more.

United States Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment
The mission of the United States Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment is to provide and facilitate assistance to wounded, injured and ill U.S. Marines, sailors attached to or in support of Marine units and their family members throughout the phases of recovery.

U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program (AW2)
Taking care of wounded warriors is an important part of the Army's mission. The U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program (AW2) is the official U.S. Army program that assists and advocates for severely wounded, injured and ill soldiers and their families, wherever they are located, for as long as it takes.

Books

The Veteran's Bookstore
Devoted entirely to topics of interest to veterans, retirees and active duty military of the United States, the Veteran's Bookstore offers fiction and nonfiction books about the nation's conflicts and the men and women who serve in them.