Georgia Vietnam Veterans Alliance

Holiday Food Baskets:

This has been another program where we started small and now feeding up to several hundred people every year. In some cases, we give the family a certificate for a turkey dinner or food; in other cases, we have the food prepared and deliver it. It has been exciting to see entire families be able to eat a holiday meal together. In one instance, one of the vets came to our headquarters to see if he could borrow a couple of chairs as he had not had his entired family together in years and did not have enough chairs.

Seminars and Clinics:

The Alliance has held clinics for the veterans and their families on Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD). Our last seminar was aimed at both the veterans and those who treat him or her. We brought in speakers, teachers and mental health professionals to focus on teaching counselors in the field how to treat PTSD. It was great partnership as we were able to work with Georgia State University, The Veterans Outreach Center (An arm of the VA), local vets, the Alliance, and Georgia Mental Health.

We have learned that it is not only important for the veteran to recognize his or her PSTD symptoms, but for family members and care takers as well.

Networking, Jobs, and Assistance:

The Alliance does not hold itself out to be a formal resource for employment, but we do keep an informal listing and do extensive networking in order to help veterans find employment. This includes working with the Georgia Department of Labor. We have taken veterans to interviews and coached them on how to present themselves. For veterans who are not from Atlanta or are new to Georgia, we have helped them find housing close to their job. In some cases, we have helped veterans prepare their resume. As with all of the services we provide, there is no cost to the veterans or their spouses.