Sondra Julian on mission to take on PTSD

CHESTERTON: Chesterton woman forms foundation to help fight PTSD

BY JOYCE RUSSELL
joycer@nwitimes.com
219.762.1397, ext. 2222
Thursday, February 14, 2008

CHESTERTON | When Sondra Julian's son Travis was deployed to Iraq in December, she believed in her heart that he would come home safe, at least in the physical sense.

But she worried about his mental well being.

The mother of three had read about post-traumatic stress disorder. She'd heard about how some vets from the Vietnam era suffered from the disorder. She'd done some research, but she wanted to do more.

"I know the Army is doing everything they can, but they are so backed up," she said, adding her research indicated that the Veterans Administration is so overwhelmed that some returning service personnel wait for up to two years for treatment.

According to the VA's National Center for PTSD, about 12 to 20 percent of returning Iraqi War vets come home with PTSD and 6 to 11 percent returning from Afghanistan also suffer from the anxiety disorder.

Julian, 43, who is working on her master's degree in social work from Indiana University Northwest and herself a veteran of the U.S. Army, decided to take some action.

She formed the Military HEROS Foundation, Inc., also known as M-HEROS, which stands for Mental Health Extras Restoring Our Soldiers.

The goal of the foundation is two-fold. Julian would like to form a national network of doctors outside of the VA who would agree to treat returning vets with PTSD. She also would like the foundation to raise enough money to pay for that treatment.
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