PONCE, Puerto Rico (11/08/17) — Discussion of mental health in the military can bring up negative presumptions from both those in uniform and out.
"There is a huge stigma with behavioral health in the military,” said Pfc. Scarlett Perkins, a military behavioral health specialist with the Ohio Army National Guard’s 285th Medical Company (Area Support). “People assume that just because they go and talk to behavioral health they’re going to get kicked out (of the military). I’m somebody they can come to that’s not going to judge them.”
While providing mental and behavioral support to Soldiers is paramount, specialists provide this support to civilians they encounter during their work as well. More recently, this has included the victims of hurricane damage in Puerto Rico.
Perkins and other behavioral health professionals attached to the 285th were deployed to Puerto Rico in support of relief efforts following Hurricane Maria. According to Maj. David Roby, the mission was “to support any behavioral health mission, whether it be Soldiers or civilian.”
Roby, a clinical social worker and behavioral health officer with the Ohio Army National Guard, said: “Residents are tired, which is about normal for where they are in the process. They’ve been in a survival mode. They’ve been amped up and trying to get things straightened out and now everyone’s getting a little tired.”
In order to reach the Puerto Ricans in need of aid, the behavioral health team joined forces with doctoral students from the nearby University of Ponce to venture out from the Federal Medical Station (FMS) established at a basketball stadium in Ponce. The bilingual students helped the Soldiers translate between the Spanish-speaking patients and the English-speaking Soldiers.
In a convoy of vehicles filled with food and water, Soldiers and students swerved along winding mountain roads to Jayuya, Puerto Rico, a region with residents who have little access to the health care available in bigger cities.
“When I was talking to one family with a (three-year-old) girl, I found they were really struggling because a mudslide came in and took out their house,” said Capt. David Kirker, a behavioral health officer and the director of behavioral health for the Ohio National Guard. “She was having some difficulty sleeping, and said the ‘chocolate milk’ came in and took away their house.”
In addition to food, water, a medical check-up, and medication refills, Jayuyans talked with the counselors and shared their stories. Through occasional tears, the citizens recounted tales of mudslides, roof cave-ins, flood damage and the ever-present threat of unseen structural damage. “A lot of grief and a lot of loss,” added Roby.
The 285th has returned to Ohio, but Roby and Kirker agreed it will be important for residents affected by the hurricane to follow up with mental health professionals on the island who can help track long-term recovery.
As for the Citizen-Soldiers of the medical company who spent more than a month in Puerto Rico on the deployment, behavioral health technician Sgt. Michael Mains said, “Our Soldiers were here of their own volition. They came down because there are American citizens who needed help. The resiliency these Soldiers have shown has been amazing, matched only by the Puerto Ricans themselves. Puerto Rico will rebuild and be stronger for having this experience.” |
