How To Get A Support Group Started At Your VA

Since we started, we've been flooded with emails on how to get LGB & T support groups simi liar to Milwaukee's VA in their local areas. We can now present informative information on the groups in Milwaukee were started.

I don't want to tell you it will happen over night. In Milwaukee the first group took 9 months to form. The second group came much easier, once the success and interest of the first group was seen.

First Step:

Talk about the group to other LGB or T Vets that you know in your area. You have to find an interest among several Vets that would attend such a group. Although many are excited by the possibility there, is still untrusting feelings amongst Community vets about the VA and and GLBT role at the VA. You will need the support of your fellow vets to have this happen. You need these vets to initially form the support group.

Second Step:

Amongst the group of LGBT Vets it's best that possibly one or two of the vets be out and seeing a mental health psychologist that is LGB or T friendly and has been in contact with that person. This would make it easier. If not, go to the Mental Health Department at your VA and ask for an appointment with a psychologist that you think may be receptive to LGBT issues.

Step Three:

Talk to the psychologist and present your case. Let he or she know that a group of vets are very interested in having a support group that addresses issues and concerns of GLB or T issues. If their not interested ask them to talk amongst their peers and see if there is someone in their department that would be interested in starting such a group, and if so ask them to have that person contact you. Main thing is be polite and know how your going to present your case when you go there.

Step Four:

Once you've found the right person to help within the VA to establish the support group. They will have to work within the VA structure to get get the group started. This is where the timeline can be long or short depending on the individual VA facility. What ever you do, don't do any flag burning, what I mean by this keep everything low key and modesty is the best policy in this case.

Ammunition:

Here is the structure of our groups within the Milwaukee VA:

The LGB and T groups meet on alternating weeks to keep focus on issues specific to each group of veterans. In the case of Milwaukee, the transgender group was established first and took the longest, but the LGB group was quick to follow. Depending on the response from local vets you can ask for the group that will spark the most interest first and follow up later with the second group depending on the number of vets you have that would be interested.

The psychologist will send out an email, once the pilot program is approved, to all the clinics in the facility letting them know if they have any LGB or T vets that a new pilot group has been formed and to let any LGB or T vets in their clinics know that the group exists and procedures for contacting the facilitators.

To keep confidentiality and to make the the LGB or T groups members feel a little more easy about attending it was decided to have these groups meet at end of day. Both groups meet at 5:30. This is when traffic in the hospital is a minimum making those who may be a little uncomfortable at first an easy entrance and exit to the facility.

The groups are an open forum. Members can bring any issues or concerns to the group for discussion. Meeting at Milwaukee started at 1 hour and then were extended to an hour and a half as the groups became more comfortable with each other and the facilitator.

Some of the topics we've discussed are marriage, parenting, don't ask don't tell, services in the VA, experiences in the military, the list goes on and on.

One of the concerns of the vets was "what goes in my chart". The facilitator will only write up a general statement without specifics as to what the group talked about during the session. This statement will be the only thing appearing in charts, and the same statement will be entered in all participant's chart.

Confidentiality of the groups will be emphasized within the groups. That what is said in group stays in group.

Facilitators can receive more information on the Milwaukee groups by contacting:

Nancy E. Krueger, Ph.D.
Staff Psychologist
VA Milwaukee
Tel: (414) 384-2000 x 41653
Toll Free: 1 (888) 469-6614 x 41653

You can pass the above information on to your psychologist as a resource and she can give them additional information on how this all came about.