SAN ANTONIO – World Mental Health Day is Thursday, Oct. 10. In Military City USA, several organizations provide mental health resources. Some are geared toward veterans’ needs.
Endeavors is one organization that helps with mental health resources along with housing and financial assistance.
According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately 41% of veterans have a “potential need for mental health care.”
Endeavors has a team ready to help out with clients who manage anxiety, PTSD and depression.
Diego has four legs, lots of fur and plenty of head scratches to go around. His main job, though, is being a therapy dog.
“When he meets people that he really, really likes or he pinpoints, his tale will start to wag. He’ll kind of like tippy tap, and he’ll start to smile,” Jessica Davis said.
Davis is a Canine Behavioral Consultant, the owner of Arfordable Dog Training and Diego’s owner. She also said that a therapy dog is different from a service dog.
“Service dogs are actually the equivalent to medical equipment,” Davis said. “So those are going to be things that are like wheelchairs, canes, glasses. … Those are more working dogs, whereas he (Diego) is more of a companion, more playful interactions.”
Diego’s focus is mental health.
“He helps lower stress, makes people happy and really just kind of brightens their day,” Davis said.
World Mental Health Day serves as an important reminder for veterans like Javier Sandoval.
“I suffered severe PTSD, anxiety and depression,” Sandoval said. “And Endeavors helped me get through the trauma.”
Sandoval is a Marine Corps veteran as well as a police veteran. After he retired, Sandoval said he dealt with personal battles.
“I was using alcohol as a crutch to get me through the day,” Sandoval said. “It took a lot of convincing. And a lot of me thinking that to be brave, and to be strong, is you need to ask for help.”
He said Endeavors’ help with substance abuse and mental health services was unmatched.
“I was homeless. I went from rock bottom to owning a home three years ago and doing great. I love my job here,” Sandoval said.
He later began to work at Endeavors to help future veterans attain the help he was able to receive.
“Let veterans know that there is help,” Sandoval said. “A lot of them don’t know. There’s (sic) a lot of avenues to go to, and Endeavors is one.”
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