ROA's Illinois Department National Councilman Col. Michael P. Peck, and Chairman of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs Advisory Council, gave the Memorial Day address at Cook Park in Libertyville, Illinois on May 31, 2021.

Pictured with him is Libertyville, Ill. Mayor Donna Johnson, and the Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs Terry Prince.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will be holding two public virtual listening sessions to help inform VA’s development of the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program (SSG Fox SPGP) and its implementing regulations. 

The virtual sessions will occur on May 25 and May 26, 2021 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern standard time. Virtual check-in will begin at 9 a.m. for registered speakers. Oral comments, testimonies, and/or technical remarks will be time limited based on the number of speakers (see notice for details). Registration information is located in the Federal Register.

The SSG Fox SPGP, created pursuant to Section 201 of the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019, is a three-year community-based grant program that would provide financial assistance to eligible entities to provide or coordinate providing suicide prevention services to eligible Veterans and their families.

On April 1, 2021, VA published a request for information in the Federal Register (86 FR 17268) seeking written comments from the public with an accompanying Press Release. 

Listening sessions are an opportunity for interested persons to help inform VA’s development of the SSG Fox SPGP.

VA looks forward to hearing your thoughts on topics including:

• Establishing the criteria for selecting eligible entities that have submitted applications; 
• Developing a framework for collecting and sharing information about eligible entities receiving grants;
• Developing the measures and metrics eligible entities receiving grants will use to determine the effectiveness of programming provided to improve mental health status, well-being and reduce suicide risk and deaths by suicide; and
• Developing a plan for the design and implementing the provision of grants, including criteria for awarding such grants, and on non-traditional and innovative approaches and treatment practices.

For more information about the SSG Fox SPGP please visit mentalhealth.va.gov/ssgfox-grants.

Registration go to the Federal Register.

A DAY IN THE ROA NATIONAL CHAPLAIN’S THOUGHTS

EASTER/PASSOVER 2021

Exodus 15 

Luke 24

A Spiritual Fitness message from the ROA National Chaplain 

In the Judeo-Christian year, the Passover / Easter season is one of the most significant periods of worship, celebration, remembrance, and reflection. Not only does this season chart the religious community’s path but also the weather/climate as well. There are heavenly gravitational patterns and relationship alignments among the sun, moon, planets, and our Earth that are affecting our quarterly seasons of weather.

For those of Jewish faith, it is a time of Passover, remembrance of preservation, and deliverance from bondage and slavery. There is much to think about during Passover, but the significance of God stepping into the lives of the Children of Israel must never be forgotten. God heard the prayer and cries of His followers and provided Moses to lead them to freedom. The response of God, His call upon Moses, the training of Moses and the preparation of the people for their journey all impacted the entire world. It is most interesting that the training ground for Moses was in the desert. Later he was to lead his people through the desert to their new land.  The components of the Passover event are many and I recommend my readers to review this very special time.

While I am a Chaplain of Christian faith, I had a mentor for a short period of time who was a Rabbi of the Jewish belief. That was a long time ago, but I have never forgotten my friend, Benjamin Elsant, as he impacted my life tremendously. For those of us who hold the Christian faith, this season is one of deliverance, too.  

It is a time of suffering and recollection to know how God stepped into history. The journey of the Christian begins with Lent then moves to the week leading to Easter Day. From that time, there are the fifty days forward to Pentecost. The impact of these two branches of belief have provided the foundations for many of our governing documents in America.  

One finds fragments of their belief in nearly every phase of our society and structure of education. Instructions on how we treat one another, and the laws which protect, frame and preserve generations into the future. One does not need to look too far historically to discover that the belief systems of these two major faiths have made it possible for grandparents to live long enough to enjoy grandchildren and vice-versa, accomplish dreams that many thought impossible, preserve the nuclear family, and the framework for maintaining moral integrity. 

Both the Old and the New Testaments speak to the individual soul, heart/mind and body of the human race. The foundation of the Ten Commandments, The Sermon on the Mount, the message of the Prophets, provide us guidance on how to live in community.  Are there flaws?  Yes! There are more flaws than we may want to count, but not because the instructions are incorrect. 

Mostly, because of our inner grasp and practical application of what we already know from the reading of both Testaments. Passover and Easter remind us that God is alive, that He intervenes in our journey here on planet earth and desires our faithfulness. Such times are for us to talk to Him and about all He has done plus come to our aid in our dilemma. Peace of soul can lead to peace with one another.

From left to right: ROA National Chaplain Sherman Reed, ROA President Judith Davenport, and her husband John Davenport. 

Eighty members and 62 families participated in a majority post-deployment Yellow Ribbon event at the Grand Hyatt in Nashville, Tennessee from Feb. 26 - 28, 2021 hosted by the Regional Air National Guard.

The event was on the verge of going totally virtual, but it was decided that because of the small numbers, the event could go on in person. CDC guidelines were upheld through the use of scanned barcodes. All participants, to include resource providers, were badged in and given a barcode on the back of the participant badge, and barcodes were tracked throughout the event.

The Yellow Ribbon program's new procedures established during this COVID environment allowed potential contact tracing in the event of a positive test by any participant. This protocol is a test of the new standard going forward for Yellow Ribbon in-person events.

An average Yellow Ribbon event unfolds on Friday which is normally just for registration and setup. There are about three to four breaks throughout the day. On Saturday, the main event happens with four scheduled events for visits to the Resource Providers. On Sunday, there is normally a half day with only two provider breaks to the Resource Providers.

"We were excited to see the Yellow Ribbon events were back on, albeit with a few changes," said President Judi Davenport.

The ROA Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas Chapter 18 Family Support Group sponsored a special Holiday Gift Drive for Local Military Families in the DFW area. During these unprecedented times, the need has been greater than the means and all donations big or small made a difference. The members of the family support group saw a need and decided to act. ROA FSG Chairman Anne Groskreutz initiated the idea for the national Family Support Group to provide the seed money from ROA in Washington, D.C.

Maj. Norma Cabanas, ROA President of Chapter 18, was the driving force behind the local effort and making it come to pass. Carolyn Hockley sent out emails to everyone in Chapter 18 and donated a computer. Through this campaign, the chapter raised $1,000. Special thanks to those who stepped up and made our project possible, especially Lt. Col. Douglas Gracey with a generous donation.

Col. Mark Marin coordinated between ROA in Washington and our local family support group. Maj. Cabanas had personal contact with an organization that assisted in identifying veteran families in need. She worked tirelessly with them to identify the families; and she purchased, wrapped, and delivered the gifts (while working full-time). Kudos and thanks to Maj. Cabanas. We concentrated on the following four Texas families:

• A veteran single mom who lost her job during the pandemic living in Fort Worth. Four children: three girls ages 12, 10, and four) and one boy age 10 with all four children were having to homeschool with only one iPad;
• A veteran single mom living in Corinth with two boys ages 13 and 15;
• A veteran single mom living in Northlake with three children: girl age 18, and two boys ages 12 and six;
• A veteran father who lost his job during COVID, his wife has continued to work but did not make enough to buy Christmas gifts. Boys 13, 12 and four; and girls 10 and 18 months.

We thank our ROA members who donated, Doug Brown for his time, talent and generosity, Chairman Groskreutz for her assistance in originating the project, and those who made it happen.

PHOTO CAPTION

A Christmas Miracle: WWII Veteran Doug Brown (95 yrs. young) provides free computer repair services to low-income seniors and to nonprofits. While Doug’s primary focus is on giving computers to Military Veterans, he gives them away to anyone in need, including students. And so, we tip our Christmas Cap to Vet Doug Brown!

When Doug Brown was asked by a friend who was preparing for retirement,
what he should do with his free time, his reply was: “Don’t retire, volunteer!