I'm very satisfied that the help is there for them. What troubles me is that, despite very strong efforts on the leadership's part and on the part of peer support, there still remains stigma.
People are afraid to acknowledge their hurt and their need for assistance, so anything that we can do to help encourage them.... We do that primarily by establishing a relationship with them first. Our chaplains are deployed at the unit level, so they're working with these personnel day in and day out. They try to get to know them and to be known by them.
When they're struggling with an issue, it's very difficult for them to leave unit lines, walk across, go into a mental health clinic or a doctor's office, and acknowledge that they have those challenges. That first step is challenging for them. Coming to their chaplain in the unit, whom they know and they work with, is an easier first step. That chaplain often is doing some triage work. You're helping them to see that sharing that concern with the chaplain didn't make it worse and that sharing it with the other caregiving professionals won't make it worse either.
We accompany them. We help to bridge them in their need, to meet them in their need, and we bridge them to the resources that are available to them. Sadly, we are not successful in every instance. Sadly, there are cases where that doesn't happen. We have to continue to strive to make people aware of the resources that are there, to help them find the ability to acknowledge their pain, to seek out the care that is there for them, and to journey with them through that.