Mental Health Awareness: Service to Service Members

Jason Howell |
Categories
Mental Health
Veterans
Vets
Service Dogs
Philanthropy
Speaker Series

"We always work by volunteers. That's how we exist in our training center. And I'll give you an idea. There are only 4 of us on the paid staff. All of the rest of the work that we do, from office management, our donor management system, our outreach program, our fence coordination, puppy raisers, puppy walkers, puppy sitters, it's all done by volunteers. We are very fortunate that we have a nice cadre of volunteers. Last year we had over 50 volunteers that logged over 15,500 hours. That's the amount of hours that they put into our volunteer capture system. That would have been me hiring 8 people. That's one of the ways people can [contribute]." 

- Dr. Gordon Sumner, President & CEO of Veterans Moving Forward

 

Emotional support is a hidden need for all of us. The need is greatest among those who have experienced trauma; on the battlefield and when rejoining civilian life. We invited Dr. Gordon Sumner to explain how Veterans Moving Forward is using service dogs to:

  • Increase mental health within the veteran community
  • Reduce anxiety and the use of medications
  • Prevent veteran suicides and homelessness

Watch the video below to hear Dr. Sumner answer:

  1. How he describes "mental health"
  2. The problems that new veterans face
  3. How other organizations are assisting with veteran mental health
  4. What Veterans Moving Forward solves
  5. Whether there are enough dogs to meet the challenge 
  6. The future!

 

Veterans Moving Forward, Inc. (VMF), a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, provides service dogs and canine therapy services to veterans with physical and/or mental health challenges, no cost to the veterans.

For more information: https://vetsfwd.org/mission-and-vision/

Jason Howell Company is an independent, family wealth management firm run by two owners who believe you should feel good about money.

Jason J. Howell, CFP®, CPWA®, CSRIC® and Douglas W. Tees, MBA, CFP®  are each married to patient wives and are dedicated to their kids. Jason and Doug have built a firm with a great reputation. The firm is based in Northern Virginia but serves clients (virtually) all throughout the United States.  

Our clients are “first generation wealth” and can feel guilty about how much they make and how much they spend compared to how they grew up. They are also concerned about how their wealth affects their sibling relationships and their kids.

We facilitate feeling "good about your money" in three ways:

  1. Family Governance: We walk the principles through a process that gets them talking about what it was like to grow up with money, how they pay bills and save today and what they want their family legacy to sound like. This turns into a “Family constitution.”
  2. Sustainable Investing: We match the values derived from the “Family Constitution” to a sustainable investing strategy that incorporates an adaptive efficient market theory with environmental, social and governance factors
  3. Proactive Philanthropy: Many of our clients will have a little extra, even after they achieve their family’s personal goals. We show them how much they can afford to be giving while living to the people and causes they care about

To feel good about your money, just book an introductory call here: Introductory Call