Returning Veterans Resource Network looks to heal invisible wounds

Veterans group looks to heal invisible wounds
By: Jason Glenn, Leader Staff Writer
09/25/2008
Updated 09/23/2008 01:11:25 PM EDT

When a soldier returns home from battle with physical wounds, the treatment is usually pretty straightforward and their needs are often easy to identify.

Cuts and broken bones need time to heal, rehabilitation is a daily grind, and family and friends know how to help out a veteran whose abilities are obviously limited.

But when a soldier comes back with invisible wounds, psychological and cognitive scars that might not be outwardly apparent, getting help can be a whole new battlefront.

One metro area group composed mainly of Vietnam-era veterans is trying to change that.

The Returning Veterans Resource Network is reaching out to soldiers who are back from Iraq and Afghanistan and their families, trying to guide them through the often difficult and confusing process of assessing and treating post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, the invisible wounds of war.

"There are literally hundreds of thousands of vets falling through the cracks who either don't know where to go for help or haven't gone for help (out of) fear," said Rob Knott, president of the group.

Knott, a veteran of Special Forces operations, said he struggled with PTSD for years before seeking help. And when he did, he found that navigating Veterans' Affairs red tape was no easy task in and of itself.

A little more than a year ago, he and a number of other VA volunteers decided to do something about it, so they formed the resource network to help younger vets avoid the pitfalls they had encountered trying to get help.

Joe Schneider, vice president of the group, said his experiences in Vietnam and the years he spent acknowledging, understanding and working through his own trials with PTSD made him want to get involved.
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