Featured Stories

​Nearly every week on the Junction City OSH campus, a small group of patients and staff who are military veterans meet to support one another.

The conversation goes where it needs to: swapping stories about group members' time in the military, their struggles, the desire to make a difference and create change for one another and their fellow veterans.

They're a group that doesn't just talk – they take action. In February, patients in the veteran support group launched a campus recycling program that supports the environment and Veterans Legacy, a local nonprofit agency that provides services and housing to military veterans.

Each week, they volunteer their time to collect plastic bottles from drinks purchased by staff and patients to donate to Veterans Legacy. Many OSH patients who are veterans visit Veterans Legacy's Camp Alma located in rural Lane County to build community with other veterans and participate in the camp's programming.

The recycling program offers a way to give back to a place where the OSH patients have created a strong community of support outside of the hospital, said members of the OSH veterans support group.

“I take pride in knowing that other veterans will benefit from what we're doing," said Mike Whitney, a Navy veteran and OSH-JC patient.

Each week the group collects 15 to 18 bags, and Camp Alma picks up the recyclables. Twice a month, the Junction City veterans group volunteers to work at Camp Alma where they can help with projects in the camp's gardens or learn skills like food preservation, growing their own food and construction skills.

“There's also the benefit of community involvement," said Doug Wiltshire, a veteran who works at OSH JC as a vocational rehabilitation counselor and co-leader of the veterans group. “Research shows that community volunteering helps people suffering from PTSD because it creates connection and purpose. It's difficult to come back to the community after being in the hospital, and being a veteran adds another complicated layer to that. Many don't feel welcome or supported in their communities. This group and Camp Alma provides that understanding and helps them establish connections of support."

Staff have been encouraged by the patients' initiative to create a recycling program and their volunteerism in support of other veterans who need help, said Tom Anhalt, OSH-JC campus administrator and veteran of the U.S. Air Force.

“The partnerships being developed shows the difference people can make when they focus on helping others in need," Anhalt said. “It is inspiring how such a simple idea can have a huge impact. Plus, the patients developed the necessary skills to plan, present and implement their proposal."

The project has been empowering, too. The veterans said they view the project as larger than recycling or volunteerism – it's a way for them to show other veterans that they're seen, their service is valued, and that it's OK to ask for support. For them their support group has become a safe space to help each other heal and share hope that the next generation of veterans have better access to mental health services.

“We're thinking about them," Whitney said. “We're the old guys. What happens with the ones who come in from Afghanistan and Iraq? There needs to be more support for them."

Their small support group at the hospital and their interactions at Camp Alma create a community of shared lived experiences and understanding, said Marvin Smith, an OSH-JC patient who served in the Army.

“It's good to be around other veterans and experience being in nature," said Smith. “It's good for my mind."

Visit https://veteranslegacyoregon.org if you would like to learn more about Veterans Legacy.​