Regional
(2010-07-21)
WASHINGTON DC
(KUNC) -
Representatives of Pikes Peak Behavioral Health Group discussed the success of its Peer Navigator program in front of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs in Washington DC today.The program connects veterans returning home with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Traumatic Brain Injuries with veterans who know how to navigate VA benefits and health care. Kevin Porter is the director of public affairs for the organization. He says part of what makes the program different is that it immediately responds to requests for help.
"Our peer navigator, if you're at church if you're at home or you're at a bar, they're dispatched to that location, just like an ambulance would be," he says.
A few hundred Colorado veterans have benefited from the program so far. Porter says data collected by Pike's Peak shows veterans who do not receive treatment for combat stress could cost their community as much as $60,000 per year in things like emergency room visits and public housing assistance. © Copyright 2012, KUNC
