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Providing Grace and Redemption through Christ
for Prisoners, Women in Recovery, and Military Veterans.
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Hello Stacey,
While post-traumatic stress can be experienced by a variety of individuals including first responders, abuse victims, and prisoners, we would like to highlight the challenges veterans face upon their return to U.S. soil. During war, our military places its personnel in high-stress, life-and-death situations, and asks them to process all they see and do with measured professionalism. Once these warriors return home it can be extremely difficult to adjust to a so-called normal life.
Six of 10 men and five of every 10 women will experience at least one trauma in their lives, and 6% of the population will develop PTSD at some point, according to the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD. Twelve million Americans suffer the effects of PTSD in any given year, and nearly 11% to 20% who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have PTSD. 12% of Gulf War vets, and 30% of Vietnam vets have also reported PTSD in their lifetime.
Considering the toll such trauma continues to take, Serving USA is honored to assist several partners doing great work with our veterans. One such partner is Kleen Street in Vancouver, WA, which operates under the leadership of Jeff Talbott, an Army veteran himself. Jeff oversees several transition houses, home to 17 veterans currently. Jeff says nearly 130 veterans have graduated from Kleen Street’s program since their founding in 2013.
Non-veterans live in the homes alongside the veterans, since experiencing trauma is not limited to the battlefield. Jeff says the mix allows for residents to see how overcoming trauma can come from many differing situations.
A new program has started recently with 20 seasoned veterans partnering with other veterans to provide one-on-one mentoring, like having a “battle buddy”. The mentors take vets to doctor appointments, anger management classes, and on other errands. This gives the mentees ready access to someone who knows the ropes and can share in their journey. Jeff shared that 2,300 veterans have died in the Vancouver area in the 10 years Kleen Street has been open emphasizing this is where the real battle is.
November 11 is Veterans Day. Serving USA is especially thankful to all who have served in times of war, fully recognizing that the battle can rage on long after the fighting stops. Join us in supporting organizations like Kleen Street and others who can be found on our website at www.servingusa.org.
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On November 11th, our nation recognizes our veterans. Studies have found that
37-50% of returning veterans have been diagnosed with a mental health or substance abuse disorder. Still, this number is likely higher as fewer than 50% of returning veterans seek mental health treatment(1).
Orange County Rescue Mission is a California-based organization with a drive to minister the love of Jesus Christ to “The Least, The Last, and The Lost.” Through their programs, they offer support to veterans with meals, clothing, shelter, spiritual guidance, medical treatment, legal counseling, life-skills training, education, financial literacy, and more.
There are barriers and stigmas associated with mental health disorders, and this month, Serving USA sat with Orange County Rescue Mission Outreach Care Coordinator Jesus LozaCruz to discuss these issues from his professional perspective and also his experience as a veteran.
- Because of the stigma surrounding mental health disorders, some veterans feel reluctant to seek treatment.
LozaCruz can personally attest to the benefits of mental health counseling.
“For almost 11 years, I dealt with guilt. I put myself down. I was depressed. I don’t sleep. (The trauma from the war) keeps you in your head. Finally, I opened up to the classes and asked, ‘what is this ‘cognitive behavioral therapy?’ he shared. “At first I was negative…but then you deep dive into the issues, and then eventually, it took me three twelve-week courses until I opened up, and it took all of the burdens out of my soul.”
(1)Spotlight on Mental Health. (n.d.). US Department of Veterans Affairs . Retrieved September 2, 2022, from https://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/news/feature/mental-health.cfm
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Every September, The God of Hope Ministries hosts a reunion for our volunteers and alumni, the inmates who have gone through our program and have now been released. We love to gather, share a meal, sing worship songs, take pictures, but most of all hear testimonies from our graduates. This year, we are celebrating our 20th anniversary as a ministry, and we were fortunate enough to have a graduate from our very first dorm in our women’s unit along with a graduate who had just been released in 2022.
Hearing both of their testimonies was inspiring. God truly has worked in this ministry to bring people new life and hope. April, the most recent graduate said she was in the dorm from 2020-2022 and just got out in January of this year. She said, “I went to prison terrified. I was in my 40s, had never been in trouble with the law, was raised in a Christian home and I was terrified, feeling unworthy, unlovable, and unforgivable. And I did not get dropped into the Faith-Based Dorm right away, I lived in a really pretty scary environment with a Bunkie that was scary. And I dropped a form for the Faith-Based Dorm immediately before I even knew what it was or what it was about. I just wanted away from this situation.”
But April soon learned more about the Faith-Based Dorm. She said, “But I started walking by Two Echo when we would go to chow and I saw the girls worshiping God. I saw them singing choir. I saw them pray for each other. I saw them doing prayer circles. And I wanted what they had. And I got in that dorm when the time was right. It took a few months for that to happen. I got in right when the volunteers were coming back after Covid. And we were able to study the Bible.”
The program had a huge impact on April. She said, “I’ve been a Christian since I was 7 years old, but I’ve developed a relationship with God in that prison, in that dorm. And I am so grateful to the people here… Ms. Loretta taught me how to memorize scripture. I didn’t think I had the brain capacity to memorize scripture. And to get up there on the mic and be able to recite an entire chapter of scripture, made me feel worthy again. It made me feel like I had something to contribute to others. Mr. Robert inspired me so much. He made me feel like a human again and helped me realize that we are children of God and we are able to give hope to others.”
April finished by saying, “Our mess is our message and our test is our testimony. God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves.”
Praise God for how He is working in this Faith-Based Dorm to bring new life and hope to inmates!
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Rebirth Homes
Fall Gala 2022
When: November 10th, 2022
Where: The Grove Community Church
19900 Grove Community Drive
Riverside, CA 92508
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Orange County Rescue Mission
Veterans Day Awards Dinner
When: November 11th, 2022
Where: Santa Ana Elks Lodge
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Powerhouse Ministries
Powerhouse's Annual Community Thanksgiving
When: November 20th, 2022
Where: Folsom Community Center
52 Natoma Street, Folsom, CA 95630
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Orange County Rescue Mission
Turkey Trot
When: November 24th, 2022
Where: 1 Hope Drive, Tustin, CA 92782
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1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
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Veterans Day
November 11th, 2022
Thanksgiving
November 24th, 2022
#GivingTuesday
November 29th, 2022
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The Three Types of Emails to Send
Newsletters (like this!) are regular, branded correspondence with your client.
Transactional emails are triggered by an action, or inaction such as an order confirmation or items left in a cart.
Behavioral emails are sent to target different segments of your users.
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Amazon Smile
Looking for other ways to support Serving USA? Head to smile.amazon.com and select Serving USA when making a purchase.
Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to your selected nonprofit!
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Does your company match donations?
Employee matching gift programs are a common benefit among corporations. These programs are designed to support eligible non-profit organizations by matching employee donations.
We encourage our supporters to contact their employer’s Human Resources departments to inquire about their community giving guidelines.
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Questions?
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding information within this newsletter, please contact info@servingusa.org
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