Female Homeless Veteran Heading to Harvard University

Alicia Watkins Was A Homeless Veteran 5 Years Ago. Now She's A Student At Harvard University
(VIDEO)
Huffington Post
Posted: 03/25/2015

Alicia Watkins is a retired Air Force staff sergeant who proudly served in Iraq and Afghanistan. She risked her life for the freedom of others, survived the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon, and watched her colleagues die. But it wasn't any of her combat experiences that broke Watkins' spirit; it was the fact that she retired from the military and found herself homeless.

In 2010, Watkins' allowed "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to document her life as a homeless veteran. Her "kitchen" was a cardboard box of snacks and microwavable meals. Her bed was a car that she rented for $10 a day. Her restrooms were the toilets at various airport hotels.

"It might have been different had I not seen the children and the babies. So, I decided to be on the street and put them in the room," Watkins told Oprah five years ago. "Why wouldn't I?"

Since that emotional interview, a lot has changed for Watkins, who recently sent an update to "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" In the above video, she shares a surprising truth: Until her 'Oprah Show' interview aired, Watkins' friends and family had no idea she was homeless.
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Horse Therapy Helps Veterans Break Through PTSD

Horse Therapy Helps Veterans Break Through PTSD
By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 5, 2012 – A Pentagon Channel documentary sheds light on how military veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder are finding help through the power of horse therapy.

"Recon: Unbridled" highlights “Horses for Veterans,” at Flag is Up Farms in California, an intensive three-day program designed to help veterans of all ages who have PTSD, free of charge.

“I think No. 1 is to work with veterans who have given up on life,” said Monty Roberts, a renowned horse whisperer. Roberts uses his horse-friendly “Joining Up” techniques on abused and mistreated horses, and adapts it for self-isolating veterans who have post-traumatic stress.

Roberts’ program is about learning to trust people by choosing to, rather than by force, he said. By using the language of the horse or the stress of the veteran to communicate, he added, his program engenders trust.

“When they trust you, they will migrate toward you, rather than going away [out of fear],” he said. “Horses are flight animals. They are frightened of everything they don’t understand. If they don’t trust it, they need to get away from it, and that’s how a veteran feels, too.”

The old style of “breaking” horses often involved using violence to force them into submission, but Roberts' style, which he calls “gentling” or “natural horsemanship,” is nonviolent.

“They get nothing from the fight, so they literally give up,” he pointed out.

Veteran Alejandra Sanchez is on her fourth visit to Flag is Up Farms, but remembers her first time like it was yesterday.

“I have never been so scared in my life,” she said. “I wasn’t even that scared when I was in Iraq. My anxiety was through the roof, because I had to face that I had post-traumatic stress.

“Every night you knew when the sun set, action was going to happen,” she continued, recalling her service in Iraq. “I remember coming to the oddly weird term of ‘I might not make it.’” Sanchez faced her fears head-on in the “Horses for Veterans” program.

“You have to work with people you don’t know, and you already have trust issues,” she said. “It definitely brought out all of the symptoms I face, but at an intense level I normally haven’t dealt with.” Sanchez said she had to learn to calm herself down for the horses to learn to trust her. “The horses would not respond to me if I was anxious, angry or violent,” she said.
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If you live in Florida, there is a great program here for you too!
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy South Florida Veterans Multi-Purpose Center

Oprah, we need you now more than ever

FOX is political on the right. MSNBC is political on the left. CNN is turning into a blend between the two and no one, no one on cable news is covering the other stories. Oprah has her own cable station, radio station, magazine, you name it, she's got it. She is also very passionate about the stories she's done over the years. We need her to step up one more time to do the right thing and cover the stories the other stations refuse to spend any time on.

Campion of the minorities in this country, there are many stories Oprah put the spotlight on during her shows. The military and veterans stories caused outrage in this country and went a long way in addressing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, when the other stations had better things to report on. She covered the reports on military families when no one else would.







With her OWN network, she has a lot of power to move the rest of the media into covering stories on our military and veterans. One thing is clear and that is the American people do care but they don't know what's going on or what they can do to help. Oprah can do what she does best. She can explain the problem and then tell them what they can do to change the world!

Michelle Obama honors military families on Oprah

Michelle Obama honors military families on Oprah

CARYN ROUSSEAU
Associated Press
January 27, 2011

CHICAGO (AP) — First lady Michelle Obama urged Americans during an episode of the "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that aired on Thursday to offer more support for the country's military families.

"There are things as a nation we can do big and small," Obama said during the episode, which was taped on Jan. 21. "And it's not a difficult thing to do."

The first lady has become an advocate for military families has traveled to military installations to talk with service members about their needs and concerns and has urged Americans to volunteer time to help them. On Thursday, she visited the Army's largest training post at Fort Jackson outside Columbia, S.C., and said the military's new exercise regimen and healthier foods could be a model for others across the U.S.

Her appearance on Winfrey's show comes after President Barack Obama announced new government-wide initiatives to support military families, including programs aimed at preventing suicide and homelessness.
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Michelle Obama honors military families on Oprah

For other stories from this program and more on Oprah go here
The Bravest Families in America

Oprah helps with funeral expenses for Hannibal soldier

Oprah helps with funeral expenses for Hannibal soldier

By BRENT ENGEL
Hannibal Courier-Post
Posted Aug 15, 2010 @ 03:40 PM
Hannibal, MO — A celebrity has made sure that a Hannibal family won’t have to worry about its humble hero’s funeral expenses.
A representative of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” contacted James O’Donnell Funeral Home shortly after the death of Sgt. Paul M. McAlister II and offered to pick up the unpaid expenses, which the family estimated at more than $3,000.
McAlister’s mother, Deborah Wilson, planned a letter of thanks to the multi-media star.
“I’m going to let her know how appreciative we are,” Wilson said Friday. “She took away a burden.”
Wilson and the rest of McAlister’s family also planned to publish in the Courier-Post a thank you to all in the Hannibal region who had expressed condolences.
McAlister, 37, died of natural causes on Aug. 2 at his Hannibal home. The service was held Aug. 6 at O’Donnell Funeral Home in Hannibal. Burial with full military rites was at Sunset Cemetery on the grounds of the Illinois Veterans Home in Quincy.
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Oprah helps with funeral expenses for Hannibal soldier

Oprah's Thanksgiving Gift to wounded warriors

If you've been with family today giving thanks for what you have in your life, you may have missed a special Oprah show. Today she gave the wounded warriors one of the greatest gifts possible. She gave them her attention as well as compassion.

Oprah on Location at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Oprah on Location at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Oprah visits Walter Reed Army Medical Center to meet the real men, women and families behind the headlines. Then, a day in the life of a soldier and a mom.

When the physically wounded are being treated, it is assumed they have other wounds needing to be treated. Should they require help to heal emotionally, everyone around them has been watching for signs, or at least they should be.

Juanita Wilson talked to Oprah about how her husband couldn't understand why she didn't come home the same way. It happens all too often when the family members are unwilling to look beyond the body they see into the soul of the person they were closest to. Juanita lost her hand but her other wound is trying to take over the rest of her.

Ceremony Reenlists Injured Soldiers Into U.S. Army Reserve
WASHINGTON - APRIL 6: U.S. Army Reservist Sgt. 1st Class Juanita Wilson (C) is congratulated by Lt. Gen. James Helmly (L), Chief of the Army Reserve, after Wilson took the oath to reenlist in the Reserves on the West Steps of the U.S. Capitol April 6, 2006 in Washington, DC. Wilson's daughter, Kenyah Wilson, 7, is at right. Wilson lost her left hand to an improvised explosive device in Iraq in August, 2004. Wilson said she has no second thoughts about reenlisting. 'I was born and bred to be a solider,' she said.
Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Apr 06, 2006

Everything she spoke about pointed to PTSD but that in no way prevents her from serving. PTSD is not the end of a life. It's the end of the way they used to be because trauma always changes people. We all change with what happens in our own lives. For our troops and our veterans, the change came after they did what we asked them to do. That makes it all our responsibly and a continuation of our obligation.

Women on the Front Lines
More women than ever are enlisted. Meet Juanita Wilson, the first American mother to lose a limb in Iraq.

Combat Photography
A retired Air Force staff sergeant goes behind the lens...browse a gallery of Stacy Pearsall's moving photographs.


The Road to Recovery
At Walter Reed, our most critically injured soldiers begin to rebuild their lives. The visit Oprah won't soon forget.

In Their Own Words
In a split second, their lives were changed forever. Meet the soldiers at Walter Reed, and watch them tell their stories.

There is more to say but today is Thanksgiving and while I am thankful for much today, this program is now among the blessings I'm grateful for today. Please watch the clips if you did not see the show. If you did then please write to thank Oprah for this show.

OPRAH INVESTIGATING PTSD, SUICIDE, HOMICIDE

Linked from VAWatchdog

OPRAH INVESTIGATING PTSD, SUICIDE, HOMICIDE
Have you personally experienced a suicide, homicide or physical abuse caused by combat-related PTSD? Are you fearful your loved one may have PTSD?

NOTE from Larry Scott, VA Watchdog dot Org ... Oprah is going to be taking a look at combat-related PTSD ... and suicide, homicide and abuse.
To share your story, go to this link on ...
Oprah.com
SHARE YOUR STORY
PTSD: Suicide and Homicide in the Armed Forces

Why I Went to Prison for Oprah

Why I Went to Prison for Oprah
by
Glenn Close

It was a chilly April day when I arrived at the Fishkill Correctional Facility in Fishkill, New York. The officers in charge pointed out where to park in the lot across from the Administration Building. The producers and camera crew from The Oprah Winfrey Show had arrived earlier, allowing time to get their gear through security. We were all there to help tell an amazing story: The story of Roberto Rodriguez and Sergeant Allen Hill. Due to an organization called Puppies Behind Bars, that I had gotten to know through my blog on Fetchdog.com, these two men were going to meet for the first time, brought together by a little, female, yellow Lab called Frankie.

Roberto has been in prison since he was seventeen for taking a life. He is now thirty-three and due to be paroled in June. Sergeant Allen Hill is a 41-year-old veteran of the war in Iraq. He has been in the Army/National Guard for a combined total of 20 years and is still on Active Duty orders. He was injured in November 2007 and came home from Walter Reed Hospital in March 2008, suffering from acute Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), the signature injuries of the two wars in which we are now involved. From being the life of the party before he was wounded, loving to wrestle with his boys and engage with his family and community, Allen Hill came home a terrified recluse, unable to leave his house or relate to his devastated family.

Roberto has been involved in Puppies Behind Bars for four years. Frankie was the third dog he has trained. The PBB program is rigorous, demanding that the inmates take responsibility for another living being 24/7; that they learn how to be team players; that they become proficient in the training techniques that will turn their charges into effective service dogs, able to respond swiftly and consistently to at least eighty different commands. The puppies arrive at the prison when they are eight weeks old and are in their training program for 18 months. They sleep in crates in the inmates' tiny cells and are exercised in a prison yard. Needless to say, an amazing bond quickly forms between the inmates and the dogs they train. For most of the men, it is the first time they experience love, certainly the kind of unconditional love that only a dog can give.
go here for more
Why I Went to Prison for Oprah

Oprah Show to feature wounded warriors

Oprah Show to feature wounded warriors
United States Army (press release) - USA
Feb 25

By Carol E. Davis

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Feb. 25, 2009) - The Oprah Winfrey show scheduled to air Thursday will feature interviews with wounded warriors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

On Jan. 21, Oprah and a film crew visited with wounded warriors and family members in the Military Advanced Training Center which is a rehabilitation facility supporting amputees and others at Walter Reed.

The show was filmed in front of a live studio audience Jan. 28 and show officials said the audience was moved and touched by the interviews with the warriors.

Several Soldiers will be featured, including Sgt. 1st Class Johnathan Holsey, an Army amputee who has been selected to attend warrant officer school, where he will begin training next month.

Other wounded warriors interviewed were Sgt. Kelly Keck, Sgt. Paul McAlister, Spc. Robert Andrzejczak, Navy Hospital Corpsman Thomas J. McBride, Spc. Nicholas Koulchar, Marine Lance Cpl. Justin "Nate" Knowles, Sgt. 1st Class Neal Boyd, Staff Sgt. Juan Roldan, National Guardmen Sgt. Travis Wood, Sgt. John Hoxie, Maj. Bruce Gannaway and Staff Sgt. Ramon Padilla.