Conference to focus on Lake/McHenry veterans, families
Generations of men and women have answered the call to protect our freedoms, leaving their homes, their families, their jobs. Their sacrifices often cause challenges for themselves and their families.
Now the Lake-McHenry Veterans and Family Services program is answering the call to help the newest generation of veterans through a federal grant awarded to the Lake County Health Department and the McHenry County Mental Health Board.
On Sept. 23-24, a conference entitled "Answering the Call: Serving Our Warriors and Their Families" will be held at the University of St. Mary of the Lake Conference Center, 1000 E. Maple Ave., in Mundelein.
The event is designed to help veterans, service members and their families help themselves toward understanding the personal changes that come with the sacrifices of war.
"Our conference will be the launch point for a new, local approach, for the care and treatment of veterans and their families in Lake and McHenry Counties. We will have the local resources available to meet the critical needs they so richly deserve as they transition into a new chapter in their lives," said Paul Baffico, a Vietnam War veteran of Lake County and chairman of the governing council overseeing grant funding provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
On Friday, Sept. 23, the conference is focused on educating service providers about what veterans and service members may need. Professionals who would like to receive continuing education units will be charged a fee of $20 for one day and $30 for two days. On Saturday, Sept. 24, the day is dedicated at no charge to veterans, service members and their families who may participate in workshops on a variety of topics that include personal health, stress reduction and coping needs led by experts in veteran assistance. Licensed clinicians will be available for attendees as well.
"The purpose of this conference is to raise awareness of the resources available to ease the stress of deployment, and reintegration. Living with a service member who is deployed is a very special thing - while you are proud of their service and the work they are doing, the service member and the family are experiencing a host of other emotions and stresses," said Mary Margaret Maule of McHenry County, a wife and mother of veterans, and vice chair of the governing council.
The keynote speaker from 8:45 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Saturday is Pamela Woll, a Chicago-based author who has worked in human services since 1989 and written about topics that include stigma reduction, strength-based treatment, resilience, trauma, depression, cultural competence, addicted families, violence, and disaster-related human services.
The program also includes sessions about the role of peer-to-peer support, combat stress, the importance of seeking help and family support, barriers to families seeking services, the biology of trauma and the veteran's court panel.
Maule said, "Often times, weaving your service member back into everyday life is as hard as living with them gone. This conference is designed to open discussions and give military families a place to share concerns and find resources to assist them in times of need. We are building a community of support and a network of care of people who understand the unique experience these military families are going through. By educating the community, front-line responders, healthcare professionals, educators, and loved ones of military members, we can reduce the amount of times things reach a crisis level."
The entire schedule for the two days is available at the Lake County Health Department/Community Health Center Web site, http://www.lakecountyil.gov/Health/Pages/Default.aspx
Those planning to attend may register through the link on the Web site or by calling (847) 377-8386.