Military and Veterans Programs News
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Rebekah Edmondson says it was her duty to support the members of a specially trained unit she worked alongside during her multiple deployments to Afghanistan.
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October 11 is National Coming Out Day, celebrated on the anniversary of the first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in 1987. For many in the LGBTQ+ community it serves as a reminder of the power of coming out. For social work alumna Kristen Kavanaugh, sharing her story in service to others is what resonates for her on this day.
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A new regional study led by the Military and Veterans Programs (MVP) at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work indicates an evolution in the needs of veterans throughout Southern California as they transition from active duty.
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With a first-of-its-kind regional study of veterans’ needs launched across three counties in Southern California, the Military and Veterans Programs (MVP) at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Pack School of Social Work is leading the way in improving care for veteran populations.
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At 19, Charles Stafford, MSW ’17, was suicidal. Suffering from severe depression, it was a relief for him to think about life being over.
Born and raised in Marblemount, Washington, a small town of 250 people on the Skagit River, his father was a logger and most people in town worked at the local mill. As a child, he was surrounded by drug and alcohol use within his family and in the community. “By the time I was 12 I didn’t want to be in my own skin,” Stafford said. “Drugs and alcohol felt great.”
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A $2 million gift from the Epstein Family Foundation has underwritten the establishment of the new RAND-USC Epstein Family Foundation Center for Veterans Policy Research, which will expand research opportunities to better inform federal, state and local policy on veterans and military families.
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One of the most challenging aspects of military life can be the transition back to civilian life and particularly the civilian workforce. It can be even more so for female veterans who suddenly find themselves thrown into an unfamiliar and unwritten professional dress code after years in uniform.
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The USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work provides more than an education. The networks that students form can be the basis for rewarding, lifelong relationships that nurture academic potential and transform social work training into real-world leadership.
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Professor Carl Castro and other USC experts reflect on the reverberations of 9/11 and the end of the war in Afghanistan, including the impact on veterans and their mental health care.
Since America was shaken by terrorist attacks of 9/11, the U.S. military has fought in the longest conflict in the nation’s history. That has left multiple generations of veterans suffering from PTSD and other health issues.
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Michael Washington, MSW '19, is a retired Marine and firefighter. Now, as a social worker and therapist, he uses his personal story to help his fellow veterans and first responders address issues of stress, PTSD and suicide.