Veterans Services
MVPN – Military Veteran Peer Network
MVPN serves to connect Service members, Veterans and their families (SMVF) with local, state or national support organizations. The cornerstone of MVPN is its team of trained volunteers, many of whom have a military background or comparable life experiences.
MVPN trains individuals in peer support and mental health awareness in order to advocate and care for SMVF.
SMVF can meet one-on-one with the Peer Service Coordinator, participate in confidential peer-to-peer support groups and receive information about additional mental health resources.
Contact: Ann McKee
Ann McKee
MVPN Peer Services Coordinator
765 Orange St. Abilene, TX 79601
amckee@bettyhardwick.org
Office Phone: 325.670.4818
Contact Ann to learn more about the available trainings listed below!
AS+K
This suicide prevention program teaches lifesaving skills:
- Ask About Suicide: Recognize suicidal risks, thoughts and behaviors
- Seek More Information About the Individual: their risk factors, warning signs and protective factors
- Safety First!
- Secure Access to Lethal Means
- Know how and where to refer someone at risk to care
CALM
Counseling on Access to Lethal Means
Reducing access to lethal means, such as firearms and medication, can determine whether a person at risk for suicide lives or dies. This course is about how to reduce access to the methods people use to kill themselves. It covers who needs lethal means counseling and how to work with people at risk for suicide – and their families – to reduce access.
MCC
Military Cultural Competency
You will be given an overview of the indoctrination process of military culture, impacts on the family dynamic, the impacts of military-related traumas, and information about best practices for working with said population. Special attention will be given to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Addiction, Depression, and Moral Injury.
Veteran Counselor Program
The Veteran Counselor Program brings services to Veterans, Active Service Members and their families those in rural areas, regardless of discharge status or ability to pay. This program involves face-to-face contact with a Licensed Professional Counselor experienced in military-related trauma.
This program includes couples therapy, and the use of evidence-based therapeutic practices such as Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), and/or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR).
Veterans Counselors are experienced in military culture and military-related traumas. They are trained and certified by the Texas Veterans Commission.
Jim Reynolds, M.Ed., LPC
Veterans Counselor
765 Orange St. Abilene, TX 79601
jreynolds@bettyhardwick.org
Office Phone: 325.670.4817
Cell Phone: 325.513.6513
MVPN Peer Service Coordinators and Veteran Counselors will travel anywhere within Callahan, Jones, Stephens, Shackelford, and Taylor Counties to meet with clients and potential clients. To access this service, or for more information, call 325.670.4818 or visit our 765 Orange St. location in Abilene.
Read more about MVPN here: http://www.milvetpeer.net/
Visit us at our Peer Center location!
765 Orange Street
Abilene, TX 79601
phone: 325.670.4817
