Aggies aid veterans through PTSD Foundation, Camp Hope

For over 10 years, dedicated Aggies have come together to impact the lives of combat veterans through a Houston-based organization.

Every combat veteran has a backstory that most of us cannot imagine. As our troops return home, the recovery process can be complex. For some families, the heartwarming homecomings on social media may be far different from reality. Some wounds are unseen and require high-quality care for those suffering from trauma and post-traumatic stress.

Thanks to a group of dedicated former and current Aggies living out the University’s core value of selfless service, hope and healing are available at the PTSD Foundation of America and its residential center Camp Hope in Houston. The organization is a wonderful example of giving back to those who have given of themselves so selflessly.

The Silent Scars of War

While the VA states that approximately 16 veterans a day are lost to suicide due to PTSD, a recent study by America’s Warrior Partnership, deemed Operation Deep Dive, finds that number to be closer to 44 veteran suicides PER DAY.  The sad fact is that many veterans don’t leave a suicide note and may attempt to conceal their death as something other than suicide.  It is almost hard to conceive, but more veterans’ lives will be lost to PTSD in the US this year than were lost in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq COMBINED over the entire 21-year War on Terror.  Unfortunately, what tends to happen is that the veterans go to the VA to seek help and more often than not, they are given pain medication and anti-depressants to help with both the physical and emotional scars of war.  This tends to lead to a very destructive cycle of self-medication and addiction that plunges our heroes into a deep despair fueled by broken families, lost jobs, and in far too many cases, results in loss of life.

There’s a Spirit Can Ne’er Be Told

In 2004, a dedicated Aggie from the Class of 1959 and a US Air Force veteran, who wishes to remain anonymous, began raising money for veteran causes under the name Impact Houston 21.  When he learned about the shocking number of annual veteran suicides, it moved him to create a more direct means of saving America’s most valuable resource – our combat veterans.  In 2009, he founded the PTSD Foundation of America, developed a faith-based combat trauma manual, and began hosting weekly meetings for combat veterans with PTSD.  Very quickly, the program began to attract veterans in need from around the country for the weekly meetings.  Because of the overwhelming demand, these veterans had to be housed at extended stay hotels in order to get them off of the streets and house them in close proximity to the weekly meetings that were showing to be quite successful.  Seeing the progress that he was making, he felt like he just had to do more for America’s heroes, and so he acquired an undeveloped 5-acre tract of property in Northwest Harris County with the idea to build a veteran’s community where he could provide a safe retreat for those veterans participating in the program.

At that time, Doug Brown, Class of 1977, got involved with the program and began to volunteer his services, after he was moved by the loss of the son of one of his business associates.  The young man was a Marine sniper and a true American hero!  He had dropped out of college to serve his country and did tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Following his return home from his deployments, the PTSD that he struggled with resulted in his life being lost to suicide in 2011.  Mr. Brown felt in his heart that no veteran should ever feel so alone that he would consider suicide as an option, and no father should have to go through the pain of such a loss.

Mr. Brown, who has an Aggie Building Construction degree, offered to utilize his experience and contacts in real estate development and construction to make this vision of a veteran’s community a reality.  He was successful in educating and motivating the community to step up and the first two buildings were opened in 2012 on the property that was initially acquired and was aptly named “Camp Hope.”  It initially consisted of a headquarters building for the veteran staff and a home that would house 8 veterans, although at some times it was overflowing with as many as 24 veterans.

Camp Hope opened with 6 veterans in residence and a dream of developing a more comprehensive program for veterans with combat-related PTSD.  As word got out about the program, veterans began coming in from across the US because in most cases they felt like it was their last option.  The campus serves the most vulnerable and is the last resort for those who have lost family, jobs, and everything. Veterans live six months to a year in 94 residences, with 61% identifying as homeless and 86% admitting to drug addiction. The program encompasses four intensive phases in a peer-to-peer format with certified combat trauma mentors and civilian pastoral staff.

The mentors have faced similar experiences and trauma and understand the difficulties of transitioning back to civilian life. The curriculum includes behavior modification, parenting, relationships, and family reintegration classes.

There is no other location like it in the United States, and to date, more than 1,348 veterans have graduated from the program, including several Aggie combat veterans.

Many times, homelessness is a result of PTSD, although Camp Hope is not a homeless shelter. It’s a safe space in which to experience healing when other programs are not enough. The criteria for applicants are having served in a combat theater and wanting to change for the better.

On Board with the Mission

The founder and Mr. Brown (current Board Chairman and Managing Director of Greystar) are joined by other Aggies in this mission as well.  These include Rick Stephanow, Class of 1992, current Board Vice-Chairman and Operations Manager with Gulf LNG Services; Scott Wise, Class of 1987 and retired Executive with Greystar; and Sean Diamond, Class of 1998 and Co-Founder of Next Wave Energy Partners.  The board also consists of a number of other prominent Houston-area businessmen and women, who while not fortunate enough to be Aggies, have huge places in their hearts for serving America’s veterans.

Approximately 85 veterans are currently residing at Camp Hope and are enrolled in the program, which now operates 5 days per week.  It remains an interim housing veteran’s community.  The programs are completely free to combat veterans because their service has more than covered the cost and it is now the community’s turn to have their backs!  Camp Hope was constructed, and the programs are 100% funded through community fundraising and personal donations.  The PTSD Foundation of America also operates chapters in a number of other locations, in and outside of Texas, where weekly meetings are held and hope and healing is offered to veterans in those communities.

In addition to the Aggies mentioned above, many current and former A&M students have embraced the PTSD Foundation of America as an organization that is really making a difference and they have tried to get involved in this mission.  For the past 4 years, the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at Texas A&M has planned and managed a sporting clays tournament in the College Station area that benefits the Foundation.

Last fall, the Texas A&M College of Medicine contacted the Foundation to say that they had heard of its work with veterans with combat-related PTSD and had interest in learning more.  The dean of the College of Medicine and the head of the Department of Psychology attended that meeting and left excited about the success of Camp Hope’s programs.  They were so impressed with the program and its track history of success that they entered into a venture with the PTSD Foundation of America that would be a learning center for the College where they would send interns to rotate through Camp Hope to learn the unique mental health and whole-person care approaches that are being employed with great success.

The PTSD Foundation of America believes it has discovered the formula for saving our veterans suffering from combat-related PTSD and they are committed to growing this outreach to veterans nationwide and to reducing the horrific daily suicide rate. Learn more about their work and Camp Hope at https://ptsdusa.org.