 This is Think Tech Hawaii, Community Matters here. Welcome to Voice of the Veteran on Think Tech Live Streaming Network Series, broadcasting from our downtown studio at Pioneer Plaza at the core of downtown Honolulu. I'm your host, Helen Dora Hayden. Joining me in the studio today is Raleigh Alvarado, a Marine Veteran and Veteran's Outreach Program Specialist from the West Oahu Vet Center, and Ron Wisterfeld, an Army Veteran and Outreach Specialist at the Wounded Warrior Project. Gentlemen, thank you for being here. Thanks for having us. Thank you for having us. Yes. Today we're going to talk about vet centers and a little bit about the Wounded Warrior Project and how they help our veterans in the community. Remember that our talk shows are streamed live on the internet from 12 o'clock noon to 5 o'clock p.m. every weekday, and earlier shows are streamed all night long. All our shows are streamed on livestream.com. If you want the links to our live streams or previous broadcasts, which are available on youtube.com, or if you want to subscribe to our programs or get on our mailing list and get our program advisories, go to thinktechhawaii.com. If you want to post a question or a comment during one of our shows, please tweet us at thinktechhi. Raleigh, Ron, thank you both again for being our guests today, and thank you both for your service. Being an Army Veteran, I'm really proud to have this show and have veterans on this show. Thank you. Thank you. I have a little bit of knowledge about vet centers in the community. So I definitely want to talk to you a little bit about that. My involvement was as a work study in Fairbanks, Freezing, Alaska. And I'm so glad to be here in Hawaii now, of course, but vet centers are a little bit like a jewel that's in the VA system that a lot of veterans and community members don't really understand how they're different from the VA. Can you talk to us a little bit about that, please? Yeah. The Vet Center program is part of the VA, but we are the direct connection to the veterans within the community. So we are community-based, although we're part of the VA, VA doesn't necessarily have access to what we do. We are a separate, we are a program within the VA that provide readjustment counseling services, and it's a range of different services that we do. Yeah. A little bit about the confidentiality. So the records that the Vet Center holds for the veterans are not shared with the VA. Is that correct? Correct. So again, we're strictly separated in that way also. So records are maintained at vet centers, even from one vet center to another. We're still, we have no access to those records. And a lot of the employees are combat vets themselves, so they can help with readjustment issues. And from my understanding, if you're not a combat vet, but you've suffered from MST, whether you're a female veteran or male veteran, you can utilize those services. Is that correct? Correct. Correct. So the Vet Center's, again, what we do is provide services to veterans that have served in a combat zone, but it's not limited to that, again, as you mentioned. Military sexual trauma is another eligibility side of the Vet Center where we do provide confidential services to those that have experience, no, they're assault or sexual assault. One thing that I enjoy about the Vet Center is that you have extended hours and weekend services for eligible veterans. Can you talk a little bit about that? Yes. So we are mandated to be open during non-traditional hours. And that has to do with access. And one of the biggest issues for a lot of veterans is access, right? So a lot of veterans are working, they're going to school. And so we want to meet the veterans where they're at. And so the Vet Center does provide non-traditional hours. So for instance, the Vet Center I work at today, we were open from eight to we're open until eight today. That's right. So stuff like that, each Vet Center is going to have different hours according to the staff that are there, the team that are there. So it's going to differ from one Vet Center to another. But there's going to be non-traditional hours for those veterans that cannot make it during the traditional hours. The other thing that I really learned in my work study was that you, the Vet Centers also work with family members of veterans. It's a little bit different, it's non-traditional. A lot of times veterans come back and there's issues at the home, right? And so you guys have a much more holistic approach for the whole family. And I think that's an amazing concept that you don't see a lot at the main VA, is they target mostly the veterans. And if they have space, they might do some couples counseling here and there. But overall, it's the primary concern of the veteran. But the Vet Center, it's much more the whole family picture dynamic. Yeah, correct. So you realize that the veterans transition into the community does not only include the veteran itself or herself, but it includes the family members, right? So there's especially veterans that have been deployed or have been exposed to certain traumas, there's going to be some complications at home. So we want to make sure that we bring in the family members, especially the significant other or boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse of the veteran or service member, right? Because we will offer services to active duty service members. And so we bring in their family so that we can help in that transition. Because we do know that there are some issues that comes up. Absolutely. And as an outreach program specialist, tell me a little bit. I've seen the mobile van, the mobile office, the big monster truck. It's amazing. And I have been inside of it and thought, wow, this is great. And you guys go all over the island, I'm sure, to do outreach and education for the communities. Talk to me a little bit about that. So yeah, so the mobile vet center, across the United States, there's about 70 of those. The one here assigned to the state of Hawaii, we've been able to take it not only here on Oahu, but actually go out to other islands. So we used to go out to deploy to Big Island, Maui, and Kauai. And thanks to the partnerships within the community with the vet center, that we were able to do that. But yes, we do the education. So we provide information and education to all veterans, not necessarily just those veterans that may be qualified or eligible for the vet center services. But we help all the veterans and meet them where they're at. So we don't turn them away. If there's anything we can do, we'll go ahead and provide basic information or help them in the process of maybe starting the process within the VA. So yeah, a lot of my job is really connecting with the community, the veterans community, and anybody else that has a stake in terms of the veterans transition into the community. Yeah, well, what you do is amazing. And we absolutely appreciate what you do for the community and for the veterans. Because a lot of times, it's hard to get to Honolulu, fight traffic, fight parking, fight everything and trivlar, not saying anything bad. But so it's nice that you guys have an outreach program like that. And your counterpart here does outreach also, Ron. Thank you for being here with the Wounded Warriors. Thanks for having me today. Yeah, absolutely excited that you came. And we're very excited because we're only gonna give you a snippet of Ron today because in two weeks on the next show, we're having him back as the Wounded Warrior and his whole team will be here with him. So I'm looking forward to that episode. Don't miss that episode. But Ron, tell me a little bit about your outreach and what you do a little bit different than what Raleigh does here. So my outreach with Wounded Warrior Project is we're kind of designed. I like to use the phrase, get them out and about and off the couch. So we deal with OIF, OEF veterans. So that's the veteran serving on or after September 11th, 2001. And our programs are kind of designed to spark an interest. So as the outreach coordinator, I'll take them out, scuba diving, horseback riding, dinners, movies, stuff like that. And it's to get them away from that everyday monotony of life or what might be bothering them. So taking them out, scuba diving, it might spark that interest. And instead of sitting at home drinking or bothering the wife or loved ones. They find a passion, a reason to change the lifestyle that they are currently in. And hooking up with other Wounded Warriors too for the camaraderie shift that they. Once we get out of the military, we kind of lose that connection with our fellow soldiers. And so having Wounded Warriors, they afford them to reconnect with people that are going through the same issues that they're going through. When I got out, I got involved in DAV. That was my organization, but I got out in 1990, shh, and so, that's all I am. But to have Wounded Warriors here for these transitioning veterans now, it's just phenomenal. I've been following Wounded Warriors since its inception, and the program is amazing in what they do, all the different services. Could you highlight a couple of the different services your organization offers? So we do have Warriors to Work out here. So that one is Fitha Dahana-Ellis. She's our Warriors to Work specialist. And she helps with job placement, interview preparations, and finding gameful employment for the Warriors. So it's not just trying to find something like a McDonald's or something, but actually find that career for them. And then we have Ralphie Alperis. He does our benefits out here. So he helps with disability claims. If you want an increase or you don't agree with the rating that you got from the VA, he can help advocate for. And he's over at the E-Wing, correct? Correct, so he works out of Tripler E-Wing. Yep, by appointment, yep. And we'll get his information later in two weeks. Everybody can have his information to reach out to him. He'll love us for that. He's an amazing service officer. Our families utilized him in the past, and he's just, he's one of those guys that really takes the time to get to know the service members' record, get to know the service member, their family. He takes the time to answer questions. And you never feel rushed with Rafael. He's always there just to be helpful and impart knowledge. He's been a great addition to the bus here at Win the Warrior Project. Yeah, absolutely. So can you gentlemen tell me anything that you'd like any veteran or veteran family member out there in community know about your organization? Let's start with you, Raleigh. Something that they would like to know me. Yeah. Know that, so the veterans are, again, are community officers. And so, and we're not, we're not there to disqualify anybody. We're there to help. So again, we don't turn away anybody. We have individual counseling and group counseling. And we also have, you know, family couples counseling, right? So those are important. And again, it's not, we're not limited to just veterans. We're, we have services, or we offer our services to active duty service members and their families. So, and so the two vets are, they're here in Oahu, is the West Oahu Vet Center and Honolulu Vet Center. We are on Facebook. So there's, it was Search Vet Center, VA Vet Center on Facebook. We're there. We are, we have a national combat call center. So, yeah. We have all that information at the end. We can talk about that a little bit. Ron, if you hold that thought for a minute, we've got to go to break, short break, and we'll be right back and we'll talk about Wounded Warriors again. Okay, we're taking a short break. I'm Helen Dora-Heiden. This is Voice of the Veteran on ThinkTech Live Streaming Network Series. We're talking with Raleigh Alvarado, Veterans Outreach Program Specialist from the West Oahu Vet Center. And Ron, oh, I had new at Butcher's last name. Westerfeld from the Wounded Warrior Project. We'll be right back in a minute, so stay tuned for more of the story. This is ThinkTech Hawaii, raising public awareness. When I was growing up, I was among the one in six American kids who struggled with hunger and hungry mornings make tired days. Grumpy days. That kind of days. But with the power of breakfast, the kids in your neighborhood can think big and be more. When we're not hungry for breakfast, we're hungry for more. More ideas. More dreams. More fun. When kids aren't hungry for breakfast, they can be hungry for more. Go to hungarees.org and lend your time or your voice to make breakfast happen for kids in your neighborhood. Aloha, I want to invite all of you to talk story with John Wahee every other Monday here at ThinkTech Hawaii. And we have special guests like Professor Colin Moore from the University of Hawaii, who joins us from time to time to talk about the political happenings in this state. Please join us every other Monday. Aloha. We're back. We're live. I'm Helen Dora Haydn and this is Voice of the Veteran on ThinkTech live streaming network series with Raleigh Alvarado Veterans Outreach program specialist from the West Oahu Veterans Center and Ron Wisterfield, Army Veteran and Outreach Specialist at the Wounded Warrior Project. Talking about vet centers and Wounded Warrior Project and how they can help veterans in our community. So we left off talking about what the community needs to know about these programs. So Ron, I believe it's your turn to tell us what you want the community to know exactly about the Wounded Warriors. I think for Wounded Warrior Project, what I'd like the community to know is we're here for you and we just don't serve under just under the programs here in Hawaii. We do have over or have 20 free programs that we utilize to help veterans transition and also part of that transition is actually getting into the community. So we also do community service projects as well. So that way it's veterans giving back to the community that they live in. I know you both are very active in the community and doing outreach. Tell me a little bit about the other different organizations you guys are involved in now. We talked a little bit outside before the show started. I'm very excited to learn about some of those. Go ahead, Ron. So I think I'll let Raleigh cover some of them but some of them that we're involved in are AccessSurf. So we do partner up with AccessSurf and they can get out veterans or veterans and their family members out on a surf board or out in the water regardless of the injury. And it's kind of a therapeutic experience and then also partner with some smaller organizations like HOH 808. They help with park cleanups and then the mission continues. Yep, I got to meet the mission continues at the Thanksgiving event at the Vet Center at Salt Lake. And that was an amazing event. Lots of people, lots of food. I won a prize, but you know. And I didn't know what to do for Thanksgiving. Normally I do service work for Thanksgiving, giving back and this year we just sat around and talked about it and we said, let's go, if they're gonna go through the effort of putting this on for us, we should attend. And that's how I feel about these events for veterans. If organizations are willing to step up and do these programs for us, the least we could do is veterans is attend the events. And there's so much going on in the state of Hawaii for veterans. This is a very veteran friendly, very veteran rich state. So Raleigh, tell us a little bit about what you're involved with. So being in the Vet Center kind of definite with the Vet Center, we're kind of connected or not kind of are connected to different organizations within the community and that's how we operate and that's how we help veterans transition, right? So getting involved with Winter Warrior Project, Ron mentioned Mission Continues, Accessor, Team RobeCon, you got Team Red, Red, and Blue. These organizations that are free to join for veterans and their families that has a lot of different projects within the community, volunteer project. And as you mentioned, as veterans, the least we can do is go and participate and make a difference in the community. So yeah, the Vet Center is, I call the Vet Center at least where how I see it is because we're connected to different organizations. If the veteran needs assistance in the VA healthcare, where they're to educate the veteran, we can get them connected with the VA. The benefit side of the VA, we partner with or work with Winter Warrior Project to get the benefit side going or other organizations, the VAV, the state of Hawaii. So just all these organizations that we're connected with, we can help veterans and kind of get them to where they need to be. Absolutely, because the name of the game, right, at the end of the day is getting veterans connected because we all are very much aware, unfortunately, of the number 22. That's what they say, veterans die every day. We lose 22 veterans a day, right, to suicide. And so whatever we can do as a community, as a veteran, one on one even, to reach out to that veteran that may be lonely, that may be disconnected, that may be suffering still, and getting them engaged into anything that would spark their interest to get them outside of themselves, I think, is golden. And I don't care how many veteran organizations are out there, there's never gonna be enough because every day, 22 is lost. So I think it's all of our responsibility to step up and make sure that doesn't happen. And I think if we all work hard, we can make that number go way down, especially here in the state of Hawaii. So I thank you guys both very much for being on the show. And the only last thing I wanted to talk about briefly is Ron, we're gonna invite you and your team back in two weeks and talk about Wounded Warrior more, looking forward to that. Thank you. Yeah, excellent program. And anybody that is a veteran supporter, a veteran, they wanna be on this show, I am open. This is Voice of the Veteran. I'm just here to host you. Contact me, please. I would love to have you on this show. You got your work cut out for me. Absolutely, absolutely. We're gonna have you put down all kinds of projects. We have a lot of community projects happening. I want, you know, prior to the events, if we can backdate it and get you on to promote it all the better. And love to showcase what's happened to these, to all of our veterans in this community and their family. Cause it makes a difference, right? And that's what we're about. So you can contact the Vet Centers on Facebook, like Raleigh was talking about, on www.VetCenters.va.gov, on Facebook with www.facebook.com slash vaVetCenters. Combat Call Centers, really important. 877-warVets, 877-927-8387, especially after hours, weekends, and on holidays. And don't forget that there's the Veterans Crisis Line that I can tell you from personal experience, I have used sometimes multiple times a day, depending on my situation. But they are always there. They are always concerned for your health and safety. That is number one issue. And they are always there to listen. And what I have found is at the end of the day, they're always on your side. And they don't know you. So it's, you know, anonymous. So sometimes it's nice just to talk to somebody that you're not connected with, but they can be there to listen and help you out. There are six Vet Centers throughout the great state of Hawaii. Hilo Vet Center in Hilo, Hawaii. Kailua-Kona Vet Center in Kailua-Kona. The Maui Vet Center in Wailuku. Am I saying that right, Raleigh, Wailuku? Great. West Oahu Vet Center in Honolulu off Kapilani Boulevard. And where Raleigh's from? West Oahu Vet Center in Kapilei. There's a, last one is not but least, Kauai Vet Center in Lihua. Lihui. Lihui, Hawaii. Yes, I wish I was local. I can tell you from personal experience that they are there in an effort to better serve the veteran and their family members. Upon request, Vet Centers will provide services after normal work hours and or on the weekends. I just can't thank you enough for your service once again and for the dedication that both of you have chosen careers to continue the mission to help our brothers and sisters, veterans. Thank you both. It's been such an honor and a pleasure having you both on the show. Ah, thank you. Thank you for your service as well. Oh, my pleasure. And I know you've done your country great and you continue to serve the veterans' populations. That's amazing. Yeah, we're very fortunate that we have a station that is very veteran pro-active and pro-friendly that we can voice our opinions, we can share with the community the resources that are available to them and all of this will be uploaded into YouTube. So you can share it with all your friends and family and make it a link to the Vet Centers. So, but thank you again. Okay, we're out of time and we'll have to wrap it up. I'm Helen Dora Hayden. This is Voice of the Veteran on ThinkTech's live streaming network series. We've been talking with Raleigh Alvarado, Veterans Outreach Program Specialist from the West Oahu Vet Center and Ron, I'm gonna say it, Wistafels from the Wounded Warrior Project. And we wanna thank them again for their participation in our show today. We are, we just wanna make sure that the community is aware of the services that the Vet Center offers and give you just a little taste of what the Wounded Warrior Project is all about. Don't forget in two weeks to make sure you watch our show again and we will be airing the episode with the Wounded Warrior folks here.