At Region Five, we offer several programs, services and supports designed to help our veterans overcome common challenges and get back on their feet. One of these programs is the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program.
Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program
Through the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program (SSG Fox SPGP), we’re able to connect veterans and their families to specialized services, including Peer support services. Peer Support is especially important when it comes to recovery. Peer Support Specialists are individuals who’ve experienced mental illness or substance abuse and have recovered successfully, and who are now offering their support to help others on their recovery journey.
The program also offers:
- Job coaching
- Vocational specialist services
- Case management
- Training facilitators
Find out more about the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Program.
Larry Veale’s Story
In this video, Larry Veale, a Peer Support Specialist with Western Tidewater Community Services Board and former U.S. Marine, shares his recovery story with us. Larry served in the Marine Corps for two years and then later worked at a shipyard and then a naval hospital. He’s been a civil servant for nearly 40 years and recovered for 32 years.
About struggling with addiction, Larry says:
“I didn’t know how to be a father. I didn’t know how to be a husband. I didn’t even know how to be a son. It took me a while. I had to learn those things all over again, ’cause I lost a lot of that in my addiction. And by the grace of God, I’ve gained those things back, and this is a way for me to let other veterans or other recovering addicts that are…To give them a little bit of hope and let them know there’s a way out, and that was my way out, the 12-Step Program. So, if I can, you can. I did, so you can do too.”
Larry’s experience taught him how important it is to have support when going through recovery. He realized that recovery was something that he couldn’t do alone. He says it “took a 12-step program and another person that had my best interest in heart to give me some direction.”
Now, as a Peer Support Specialist, Larry is that person for others who are ready to recover and take back their lives.
On being a peer, Larry says:
“I try to give back what so freely has been given to me.”
Region Five Is Dedicated To Helping Veterans and Their Families Move Forward
Veterans face unique challenges while in service and when returning to civilian life. Many veterans find themselves struggling with mental illness or substance abuse or with transitioning back to civilian life, but aren’t sure where to turn for help. Region Five, Western Tidewater CSB, and all of our CSBs are dedicated to helping veterans and their families move forward.
Ready to get help?
Find your local Community Services Board and make an appointment for same-day access.
Need help right away?
Call the Region Five Crisis Line anytime, 24/7, by calling 757-656-7755. You can also dial 988 and choose option 1 to reach the Veterans Crisis Line.
Full Transcript
[music]
Charles Stamper: Hello. My name is Charles Stamper. I’m the Operations Manager for the Sergeant Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program here at Western Tidewater Community Services Board. Our team is dedicated to helping veterans and their families move forward. We do this through outreach, assistance with employment, education, VA benefits, and peer support. I’d like to introduce you to one of our veteran recovery coordinators as we discuss alcohol use and its abuse in the military.
Larry Veale: My name is Larry Veale, peer support specialist for the Sergeant Fox Program. Well, I was in the Marine Corp, only was in there for two years. I came out on disability. After getting out of the Marine Corps, I worked for the shipyard, of course. And I left there and went into the Naval Hospital for over 38 years, more or less. So I’ve been a civil servant for over 38 years. Right now I’ve been clean for over 32 years. I’ve been a 12-Step member for 32 years, I guess. I’ve suffered a lot of loss, and through the 12-Step Program, I’ve gained a lot of those losses back, and most of all I lost myself. So, I’ve gained me back. It’s been a process. It didn’t happen overnight, and it’s a one-day-at -a-time process for me.
Larry Veale: Even with that time under my belt, I still do meetings, 12-step meetings, and I try to give back what so freely has been given to me. I didn’t know how to live, and I had to learn how to live all over again. Once you become caught up in that addiction world out there, the streets, you have to learn how to recover from that. And that was a process for me. And that was something that I couldn’t do alone. So it took a 12 step program and another person that had my best interest in heart to give me some direction. So a 12-Step Program kinda gave me some direction on how to recover. I didn’t know how to be a father. I didn’t know how to be a husband.
Larry Veale: I didn’t even know how to be a son. It took me a while. I had to learn those things all over again, ’cause I lost a lot of that in my addiction. And by the grace of God, I’ve gained those things back, and this is a way for me to let other veterans or other recovering addicts that are… To give them a little bit of hope and let them know there’s a way out, and that was my way out, the 12-Step Program. So, if I can, you can. I did, so you can do too.