Welcome Back Veterans

More than 1.7 million military veterans have served in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. Many of these veterans face serious challenges upon their return home when adjusting to life outside the military community. More than 300,000 have co-occurring PTSD, depression, substance abuse, and TBI and are at growing risk for suicide. The Welcome Back Veterans (WBV) initiative, founded by Fred Wilpon, owner of the New York Mets, and backed by Major League Baseball Charities, the McCormick Foundation and the Entertainment Industry Foundation, was started to help returning veterans face mental health and other reintegration challenges they may encounter as they return back to civilian life. Read more about U-M's Welcome Back Veterans programs in an article in Medicine at Michigan.

Under the WBV umbrella, the University of Michigan Depression Center has worked closely with the Michigan Army National Guard to develop outreach and prevention programs for returning soldiers and family members. These programs include a peer support program called Buddy to Buddy, led by Dr. Marcia Valenstein, which trains fellow veterans to provide support to newly returning soldiers, and help them find the resources they need to meet the challenges they face upon their return. The WBV team is also coordinating workshops for soldiers and spouses to provide support for couples and families, including help with issues around parenting. This program is known as Welcome Back Parenting and is led by Dr. Sheila Marcus.

Other special efforts with the military involve addressing suicide prevention. These efforts target overcoming the stigma around asking for help, and involve lectures and presentations to active duty soldiers and the Pentagon.

In the News:

University of Michigan Depression Center receives Welcome Back Veterans award for returning veterans and families (January 07, 2009)

Welcome Back Veterans (June 25, 2008)

Related Links:

Buddy to Buddy
A program designed to help returning soldiers deal with the many challenges they may face when readjusting to life at home.

Real Warriors Campaign
Features stories of real service members who have sought care and are continuing to maintain successful military or civilian careers. Sponsored by the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, the campaign promotes the processes of building resilience, facilitating recovery and supporting reintegration of returning service members, veterans and their families.

Welcome Back Parenting
A guide for reconnecting families after military deployment.