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New state law aims to help families prepare for veterans' return

A new state law designed to decrease veteran suicide will focus on families - and making them better equipped to help veterans transition to civilian life.

The law requires the Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs to coordinate with military and veterans organizations to provide a family preparation course about the emotional cycle of returning from deployment.

Veterans say the key to effective preparation is explaining to those without a military background how the experience is life-changing.

"It's really hard on the family. When you come home from deployment, your entire thought process is changed," says 30-year-old Air Force veteran Darian Blanks of Oswego. "If you were financially responsible before, you come home and spend recklessly."

Michael Brennan, a psychologist and clinical director of the Road Home Program for Veterans and their Families at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, says families need education about how to communicate, plan tasks, manage finances and be patient as veterans return home.

Tips about how to spot the signs of post-traumatic stress - such as hypervigilance, changes in thinking or mood, avoidance of trigger situations or reexperiencing scary moments - are critical, too, as relatives help veterans rejoin a family that has functioned in their absence.

"That can be very difficult," Brennan says.

The state plans to provide the family preparation required under the new law by working with an existing service of the National Guard called the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program.

The program provides pre- and post-deployment training and resources to military members and their families with tips on how to be resilient through tough situations, such as "hunting the good stuff," or seeking the positive in life, says Major Cheryl Kulavic-Knope, the state family program director. It also offers connections to a family assistance center for location-specific referrals to services such as counseling and rent payment assistance.

The VA says it is connecting with the Yellow Ribbon program so Illinois can begin offering family preparation Jan. 1, or shortly thereafter.

"They've given so much," state Rep. Stephanie Kifowit says about the state's veterans. "The least we should do is make sure they have the support and the programs they need for themselves and their families."

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