Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Fixings for a turkey dinner - including a full, frozen turkey - were handed out to veterans Thursday evening at American Legion Post 49, Warsaw.
The meal distribution also provided an opportunity for Bowen Health Director of Community Engagement Michael Murphy and Kosciusko County Sheriff Jim Smith, who sits on Bowen’s board of directors as the county’s appointment, to announce Reboot Thursdays.
Reboot Thursdays is a group setting for veterans to connect and talk through mental health challenges. They will take place on the second Thursday of every month, beginning Dec. 11, from 4 to 5 p.m. at Post 49, 301 N. Buffalo St., Warsaw. A meal is provided after each session.
“We’re excited to be here, we’re excited to just help out and develop some new partnerships with the Legion,” Murphy said.
Smith, a veteran himself, said, “I couldn’t be more excited about this partnership with American Legion and Bowen Health. Bowen Health, I feel, does a pretty good job being engaged in the community. This is certainly something that everyone can get behind - with you as veterans - and I think this is a unique, but awesome opportunity as we do these Thursdays, and I just strongly encourage anyone and everyone of veteran status to take advantage of that.”
Whether the conversations are short or long, that doesn’t matter, he said.
“It’s OK to not be OK. Even if you feel like you are OK, then they have something to offer that we don’t even know that we may need. And, often times, when that presents itself, it’s just having a general conversation,” Smith said. “I feel like that’s what a lot of that (Reboot Thursdays) is going to be. They’re going to come down and have a conversation, and it’s for you guys. It’s for you and there’s no cost to it, so why wouldn’t we take advantage of it?”
He stated there’s absolutely no shame in taking care of one’s mental health and he’s proud to be a part of Bowen and its board of directors.
“Be proud of yourself for being here. Spread the word to others that maybe haven’t heard about this, but get them involved as well. Tell them about the Thursday nights and have them take advantage of it,” Smith concluded.
Murphy said Thursday’s turkey dinner giveaway was for the first 50 veterans that showed up.
On the Reboot program, he said licensed therapist Amy Jo Voirol will join the conversations.
“But that’s simply what this is. We’re envisioning just kind of a round-table topic. Just come and sit and chat about what’s on your heart,” he said.
If a veteran feels like maybe that’s not something they personally need, “But I bet you’ve got something that would help somebody else. So if that’s you and you can come out and you can join us, that would be great,” Murphy said.
He stated Bowen Health was happy and excited to be engaged in the partnership with the American Legion Post 49.
Voirol said she appreciated working for Bowen as the people employed there really care about one another. She’s been licensed as a therapist since 2011 and “I am just honored to be here and be a part of this.”
“So I am basically here to listen, to encourage, to educate, to express that we at Bowen care about everyone in this room, and, again, I’m just very honored to be here and be a part of this,” she said.
The turkeys and dinner fixings were given out to the veterans by Kosciusko County Councilmen Joe Irwin, Tony Ciriello and Dave Wolkins and Smith.
Afterward, Murphy said Bowen knows veterans definitely need some services, but are very proud so sometimes they don’t seek help.
“So we felt it appropriate to come out to a kind of neutral site to just engage veterans in a place where they don’t have to worry about paying for the service, they don’t have to worry about being a patient. They can just come and talk freely and we can try, hopefully, to lighten their load a little,” he said.
Bowen is big on outreach just from the community standpoint, whether that be a partnership with a school or with the Legion. It’s just something Bowen has done across all sectors, he said. The Reboot Thursday at the Legion is new to Bowen, however.
“I think our commitment is just to serve, because if we serve one, then we’ve helped one. If we serve 10, we’ve helped 10. So I don’t know that we’re quantifying it in a certain way, we’re just here to serve,” he said.
Veterans may face issues like post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety.
“The thing about mental health is that it affects us all. At some point in time, more than likely, someone is going to struggle with a mental health challenge, veterans included,” Murphy said.
Reboot Thursdays is a new way for Bowen Health to engage the community, specifically veterans in partnership with the Legion.
“We’re excited about it, just to see what’s going to happen,” he said.
If the pilot program works, it could expand to other counties served by Bowen.
“We will be engaging with veterans in our other counties as well, and the outreach may look a little different in each program,” Murphy stated.
