I shared this last year, but as we navigate past the one year anniversary of a tremendously dark day, I wanted to share again. Please feel free to share, add your own resources, or reach out to me privately for any reason.
It’s no secret that this is a very, very dark time – in our lives, and in American history. Feeling helpless is a common emotion right now, and I don’t expect that feeling to dissipate any time soon. That said, I wanted to share some reputable resources that may fit your needs as this is navigated. Note that the needs may change over the course of the coming weeks and months, so know that utilizing more than one as time goes on is more than okay and is always an option.
Civilians:
I understand. We’ve never been over there, we will likely never go over there, and we cannot fully comprehend what our military is going through right now. We can’t. And it feels helpless. But, we CAN do our part. Just because we don’t wear a uniform does not mean we do not have a duty to our men and women who do. No matter how you feel about our country and its leadership right now, we have a duty to uphold for our men and women who serve it, without question. Individually we do, and collectively we do.
If you feel called to help financially, there are many organizations that desperately need that kind of help. I will share a few below. If you feel led to one mission specifically, there are several more GoFundMes that could desperately use your dollars – one of these is also listed. I will continue to update this list as I learn more and verify organizations/GoFundMes.
1. Operation Light Shine
http://operationlightshine.org
2. Operation Recovery
www.operationrecovery.org
3. The Nazarene Fund
www.thenazarenefund.org
4. The Sergeant Tyler Vargas-Andrews Family Fund
Tyler was among those who were wounded in the blast on August 26th.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-sergeant-tyler-family-fund…
5. Help For Afghanistan
https://helpforafghanistan.org/
If you are not able to help financially, here are some resources to share with any service members or veterans around you who could use them for peer support or ways to get involved to best support themselves and those around them:
1. Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)
www.taps.org
2. Project Refit
https://www.projectrefit.us/
3. Team Red, White & Blue
https://www.teamrwb.org/
4. Team Rubicon
https://teamrubiconusa.org/
5. Kasey Brown of the Military Veteran Peer Network
kasey@dentoncountyMVPN.com
I would also highly encourage you to reach out to your veteran/active duty friends and acquaintances, and boldly let them know that their service to the country you live in was necessary and needed, and how personally grateful you are that they were willing to do their part.
Be specific.
Tell them the things you have been able to do throughout your life that you have been able to do because they offered to serve. Offer a listening ear, and if they choose to share with you, keep your mouth shut and let them. Your opinion is not needed here. Listen, and process their words. What they have to say really, really matters right now. If they would prefer to not share with you, leave it be, and just ensure they know you support them.
This is not the time to simply say or comment, “Thoughts and prayers.” If you are a praying person, by all means, don’t stop. But do so, actively. Pray, then do. Don’t pray and wait for someone else to do something. Don’t comment prayer hands and move on about your day. This is your duty, too. What you choose to do from here on out CAN and WILL make a difference, so long as you keep choosing to do it. Just as our men and women in uniform have.
If you need someone to talk to, please reach out to me. We need to support each other now, too.
Military – active and veterans:
As angry as we (civilians) are right now, we know what you are feeling is thousandfold. It’s immeasurable. If you find yourself in a dark spot from which you are struggling to step forward, please, PLEASE, utilize any of the resources above. These are people who are and have been in similar shoes and will be not just an ear, but a real support system for you in a way that many of us can’t. I have been amazed, but not shocked, at the level at which the veteran community has stepped up for each other during this time. Utilize it.
UTILIZE IT.
While it may seem like a broken record, the phrase “You are not alone” ONE THOUSAND PERCENT applies here. You. Are. NOT. Alone in this. You are not alone in what you are feeling, and you are not alone in seeking support. It matters. It matters right now, it will matter tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. No one who matters is going to think any less of you or see you differently if you make the choice to reach out to someone as you navigate what is going on right now, and as it continues to unfold.
We support you. We see you. We hear you. We want to keep hearing you. Get loud. Get louder. We will keep standing with you, and we’ll get loud too.
Civilians – I want you to know that when I, a civilian, began reaching out to the military community to make a list of credible resources, I want you to understand the response that I got, and why it’s important for YOU to reach out to them, even if it makes you anxious.
Every. Single. Service member. I reached out to LEAPT at the opportunity to provide me with places where WE, civilians, could help. This is a team effort. We want to help each other. Do not NOT do something because you feel like you have nothing to offer or because “you haven’t been there.” I haven’t either. The majority of us in this country haven’t. THAT DOESN’T MATTER.
What DOES matter is your willingness to protect, defend, and support that which they have been and are fighting for. THAT matters. And we have all the ability in the world to do it.
So do it. Pray, then go do. There are 13 families who received the most devastating news of their lives one year ago. Yes, it’s time to be mad. Throw that anger into something that matters, and make a damn difference.
Now is the time.
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