NORTH BAY BOH EMI A N | FEBR UARY 22– 28 , 20 1 2 | BO H E M I AN.COM
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Return to Sender ( 21 to yoga. Next to an old-fashioned hospital reception desk, a Murphy’s Laws of Combat poster lists dozens of sardonic reminders such as, “Keep in mind that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.” Next to a miniature American flag in a desktop holder is the familiar black POW/MIA flag. Residential PTSD programs in the VA vary between 30 and 90 days, while Pathway Home adjusts the length of stay according to individual needs. “We’re the longest program,” explains unit manager Kathy Loughry. “You can’t do this in 30 days.” What’s more, the Pathway Home Program is free. “The guys don’t pay us to be here,” Loughry says. “And the members are exclusively vets of Iraq and Afghanistan. We don’t have any Gulf War or Vietnam vets in this program. That’s unusual, because if you go to the VA, you get all vets mixed together, which can create a kind of barrier for the group to open up.” The 32-bed program in Yountville, established in January 2008, has drawn vets with PTSD from all over the country. While in residence, program members take leaves. “A lot of their learning is about how to get back into the community,” says Loughry. The VA and the Department of Defense already fund four polytrauma centers at VA hospitals around the country, but the funders of Pathway Home wanted a startup, approaching Gusman due to his development of recovery programs
Where There’s Help Emergency Hotline
Veterans and their loved ones can call 800.273.8255 and press 1, chat online at www. VeteransCrisisLine.net or send a text message to 838255 to receive free, confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, even if they are not registered with the VA or enrolled in VA healthcare.
for returning Vietnam vets. Gusman told them that these new returning vets “were going to need what doesn’t exist.” Now it does exist. Residents of the Pathway Home Program make use of the recreational facilities on the Veterans Home grounds and participate in community activities in Yountville and beyond. Gusman’s idea of collaboration is working. The program works cooperatively with the VA in Martinez, which provides medications. Program vets have received visits from the Napa Community College, the Sheriff’s Department, the FBI and police, all reaching out to help. Many other community members, both individuals and businesses, have volunteered to assist. “If you go online, you can find hundreds of good things for veterans,” says Gusman. “There is goodwill, there is good intention, but there is a lack of strategically integrated planning. What we need are collaborators if we are going to be supportive of the returnees.” Gov. Brown recently formed a committee of state, federal, VA and county mental-health folks charged with developing a program for collaboration. If it works for the Pathway Home, the thinking goes, it can work elsewhere. For the sake of veterans like Conan Nunley—so frustrated by the system that he hired a lawyer to help him get his disability benefits, and who still feels disconnected and adrift— we all have a responsibility to make it work.
Local Help County veteran officers and their staff act as a go-between, answering any questions veterans have and directing them to the right services. Marin: Morton Tallen, 415.499.6193. Sonoma: Chris Bingham, 707.565.5960. Napa: Patrick Jolly, 707.253.6072.
—J.P.