Bedford VA's VITAL Program Helps Student Veterans Succeed and Lead

U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald meets VITAL Peer Specialist Rahsaan McLellan, Bedford VA Program Coordinator Alisa Bennett and Dr. Valene Whittaker at the Bedford VA Medical Center in April.

By Robert Cook

For Veterans who have left the battlefield and entered the classroom, college can be an especially stressful time adjustingto new routines, class schedules andnew environments.

Without proper resources and support, dealing with issues like reintegration, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and depressioncan cause student Veterans to drop out of school at a much higher rate than other students.

Bedford VA’s Veterans Integrations to Academic Leadership (VITAL) program is addressing Veterans’ needs for specializedsupport atseveral Massachusetts colleges and universities.

VITAL is a national VA health initiative helping returning Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom Veterans transition toand succeed in college. The program also serves Persian Gulf War and Vietnam War-era Veterans and is available to all Veterans.This is accomplished by providing world-class health and mental health care to support Veterans’ successful integration at colleges and universities.

Until VITAL was launched, many students had trouble accessing theG.I. Bill to pay for tuition and books, and were unaware of the VA health and mental health benefits they have earned by their service.

“It filled a hole for us. It couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Pam Flaherty, the Dean of Students at Middlesex Community College with campuses in Bedford and Lowell.

As the War in Iraq wound down, Flaherty said Middlesex Community College went from having 145 Student Veterans to 450 in 2011 and nearly 600 Veteranstudents in the 2014-2015 school year.

Flaherty said Middlesex Community College’s VITAL is located in the Veterans Resource Center where student Veteranscan speak with other Veterans who understand feelings and issues related totransitioning out of the service.

The VITAL program provides:

•Treatment for adjustment, stress, anger, depression, anxiety, sleep problems and PTSD.

•Referrals and coordination with university disability services to request academic accommodations.

•Support with University processes regarding academic actions and/or conduct issues.

•Assistance with enrollment and care at Bedford VA.

•Help obtainingbenefits, resources and vocational rehabilitation from VA.

•Support to obtain and use assistive technology devices such as hearing aids and screen-reader software.

•Support to developstudent Veteran Peer Groups

Alisa Bennett, the VITAL program ccordinator at the Bedford VA said VITAL programs are located at Middlesex Community College, North Shore Community College, (Danvers and Lynn), Bunker Hill Community College, Salem State University, Northern Essex Community College, and Mount Wachusett Community College. She said Bedford VA hopes to expand the program to Northeastern University, UMASS Boston, and Endicott College later this year.

Bennett said the Bedford VA VITAL team has also started one of the first “TeleVITAL” sites in the country using Telehealth to improve access to care.

For more information about the VITAL program, contact Alisa Bennet at 781.983.2400

Robert Cook, Public Affairs, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital (Bedford VA)

X�ݭ��Q