Veterans Campus Program
County of Orange California
Health Care Agency
Behavioral Health Services
14 March 2014
MAJ(ret.) Ron Wilson, BSN, MA, MFT
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Gain state and county Veteran figures
Identify common roadblocks Veteran face
toward seeking behavioral health services
Understand the mission, purpose, method of
the Veterans Campus Program
Gain an understanding of the work being done
in sessions
Closing Thoughts (Recommendations)
Questions & Comments
State and County
Figures
State/County Figures:
California has more ‘current conflict’ (post 9-11)
veterans than any other state (11% of the military join
from California (VA study ‘12)
2.2 million Veterans reside in California, with the
majority living in the counties of: Los Angeles, San
Diego and Orange County
Orange County has an estimated 150,000 veterans (all
eras), and approximately 10,000 female veterans
Roadblocks to Seeking Behavioral Health
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All Veterans are in crisis!
All Veterans can obtain VA services
All Veterans have served in combat
You have to be in combat to get “PTSD”
All Veterans are angry and aggressive
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All Veterans are “wounded”
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 Stigma:
Career concerns
 Lack
of self insight: Warrior mentality, selfconcept
 Lack
of resources: insurance, money, time,
transportation
 Do
not know how to access
 Symptoms
 Do
prevent keeping appointments
not trust the VA or government
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As of 2010… 1,840,380 female Veterans have
served
166,709 live in California (an estimated 10,000
reside in Orange County)
…receive little recognition
…more likely to get divorced
…likely incident(s) of Military Sexual Trauma
…less likely to find treatment groups
…less likely to find social cohorts that can
relate to their experience.
3X likely to commit suicide!!!
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Drop Zone Slide Goes Here
THE DROP ZONE
A multidisciplinary team
 Serving Veterans, service members and their
families
 Engage, assess and assist participants in
overcoming identified barriers to achieving their
educational goals.
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 The
Drop Zone…
 Collaboration
within an inter-disciplinary team of
Academic, Administrative, and Helping
Professionals
 Established
through a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) between the County of
Orange Health Care Agency and the School
District Board
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It provides referrals
and linkages to viable
resources, both on
and off campus
Coordinates various
workshops
Facilitates Veteran
‘support groups.’
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Empowers the student
Veterans’ day-to-day
transition:
On campus
o In their community
o Towards their future
o
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Promotes ‘Wellness
and Achievement’
o
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Through readiness
and relationships
Provides ‘People who
know people’
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The program is unique in that the clinician is a
military veteran who is able to ‘normalize’ the
act of seeking behavioral support for Veterans
who often do not inquire about behavioral
health services due to stigma concerns.
Mental Health Service Act (MHSA) funded
program aimed at populations (culture) who
are designated to have barriers to seeking
behavioral health services.
Connecting a Student Veteran
to the program
Academic Counselor
(LMFT) administers a
student questionnaire to
identified student
Veterans with concerns
toward achieving
academic success…
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Engage and Assess
 1:1
Conversations with the Student Veteran
 Additional outside source information (faculty and
administrative personnel, family, etc.)
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Referrals to Resources (on- and off-campus)
 Interests
& Inquiries  Resource
 Engage & Assessment  Resource / Program /
Service
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Establish regularly scheduled sessions and
follow-ups
“Intake and Risk Assessments” performed on initial visit.
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Homeless
Un-employed
Substance Use
Problems
Legal Involvement
Recently Released
from jail
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Mental Health Issues
Relationship Problems
States (depress,
anxious, angry)
Severe/Chronic
Medical Issues
Suicidal Ideation or
History
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“Needs
Assessment”
performed on
initial visit as well.
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Employment Referral
Resume Development
Legal Assistance
Community Resources
(VA/HUD VASH, DMV,
SSA)
Housing
Shelter (short, long term)
Food
Financial Counseling
Service Connected
Disability
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Aggressive Demeanor
Isolation/Loneliness
Relationship Issues
Financial Hardships
Legal Matters
Housing Concerns
Employment Barriers
Transition Difficulties
(military-to-civilian life)
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WHO-5
SBIRT
PCL-M (PTSD)
PHQ-9 (anxiety)
GAD-7 (depression)
PGIS (Personal Growth
Initiative Scale)…selfresilience
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Life Success
GPA
College Retention
Sought Campus
Mental Health
Services
Mental Health
Acuity?
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OC4Vets (MHSA Innovation program)
 Co-located with the County’s Veterans Service Office
 Claims Officers screen clients for behavioral health symptoms
 Behavioral Health Clinicians screen, assess and enroll
 Peer Veteran Navigators ‘buddy-up’ with participant to connect
with appropriate resources
 Housing specialist and job specialist (employment, job skill
enhancement and job coach) on site 5 days/week
 Work closely with community providers and VA Long Beach
Health Administration.
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Outside agency collaboration
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American Red Cross
Boys Town
Child Guidance Center
Goodwill
One-Stop
OneOC
St. Jude’s Brain Injury Network
VA Departments (MIRECC & Women’s Health Clinic)
Events featuring Student Veteran testimonials:
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Santa Ana, Cypress, Fullerton Colleges and Chapman
University.
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“Network of Care
for Behavioral
Health”
“Network of Care
for Veterans”
BHS subject matter
specialists
BHS Veterans’
Services Coordinator
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Avoid duplication of
effort…Effective
Networking
Evaluate
performance
outcomes and alter
programs as needed
We have to get ready in Orange County for the
tsunami of veterans that will be coming back.
We need to coordinate with services available
at our community colleges, the VA, our
community, and then fill in those gaps.
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Broken marriages
Job loss
Incarceration
Homelessness
Suicide
Reliance on county/state/federal socialsupport programs
Repeated hospitalizations
Accidental death or severe medical issues
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Ron Wilson, BSN, MA, MFT
o At Orange Coast College
• Watson Hall, Room 119 (next to Veteran
Service Center)
• Phone: Ofc- (714) 432-6880; Cell- (714)
824-1996
• Email: rwilson@occ.cccd.edu
o
At OC Health Agency Clinic (REACH
Program)
• Address: 1725 W. 17th St., Ste 101-B; Santa
Ana, 92626
• Phone: (714) 834-7782
• E-mail: rwilson@ochca.com