Gorman Jay A, Scoglio Arielle A J, Smolinsky John, Russo Anthony, Drebing Charles E
Social & Community Reintegration Research Program, ENRM VA Medical Center, 200 Springs Road, Building 9 Room 106, Mail stop 116A, Bedford, MA, 01730, USA.
Department of Psychology, Suffolk University, 73 Tremont Street, Boston, MA, USA.
Community Ment Health J. 2018 Nov;54(8):1189-1197. doi: 10.1007/s10597-018-0288-y. Epub 2018 Jun 13.
Veterans transitioning from military to civilian life are vulnerable to a loss of social support and an increase in isolation from their communities, which can exacerbate other difficulties they may be experiencing, such as physical or mental health problems. Veteran Coffee Socials are an innovative community-building pilot intervention designed to foster social support and community between veterans. In seven target communities, certified peer specialists initiated and facilitated weekly "Veteran Coffee Socials"-open peer support groups for veterans, held in local coffee shop or restaurants. Over a 9-month period, an average of 8.5 veterans attended each meeting, for a total of 2236 veteran engagements across seven towns. A range of activities were identified as commonly occurring during these Veteran Coffee Socials. Veteran attendees routinely formed relationships with each other, representatives from community organizations, and staff from local and VA healthcare resources. One of the most common activities involved veterans receiving information and directions for enrollment into needed healthcare supports and to local community resources. Case descriptions are provided illustrate the potential positive impact of this intervention to build community and expand social support for returning veterans through the examination of three individual and three group examples.
从军队过渡到平民生活的退伍军人容易失去社会支持，与社区的隔离感增加，这可能会加剧他们可能正在经历的其他困难，比如身心健康问题。退伍军人咖啡社交活动是一项创新的社区建设试点干预措施，旨在促进退伍军人之间的社会支持和社区联系。在七个目标社区，经过认证的同伴专家发起并每周组织“退伍军人咖啡社交活动”——为退伍军人设立的开放的同伴支持小组，在当地咖啡店或餐馆举行。在9个月的时间里，平均每次会议有8.5名退伍军人参加，七个城镇共有2236人次退伍军人参与。一系列活动被确定为在这些退伍军人咖啡社交活动中经常出现。参加活动的退伍军人经常相互建立关系，与社区组织的代表以及当地和退伍军人事务部医疗保健资源的工作人员建立联系。最常见的活动之一是退伍军人获得有关注册所需医疗保健支持和当地社区资源的信息及指导。通过对三个个人案例和三个小组案例的分析，提供了案例描述，以说明这种干预措施对建立社区以及为退伍军人回归社会扩大社会支持的潜在积极影响。
