MAKAYLA HOLDER The Southern
CARBONDALE — Covered in fur and paw prints, one Carbondale not-for-profit has been training man's best friend to help veterans with PTSD.
This Able Veteran has been providing free service dogs to veterans since 2011. The hope is they can help decrease the number of veteran suicides per year and to them along their trauma journey.
"Our abilities may change, but they don't go away," Behesha Doan said. "It's just like dogs. If they have an injury, they lose a limb or an eye, they simply rely on the abilities they still have. I love that about them and what great teachers they are for us."
Doan is the founder and owner of This Able Veteran.
Her brother — a "lifer" in the military — brought her into that culture, Doan said.
That coupled with her own personal experiences with trauma led her to found This Able so many years ago.
"Many people living with trauma feel damaged, and the message I want to convey is that injury does not equal damage. Injuries are injuries, and injuries can heal. We are not damaged although we may be changed. A comeback from a trauma or an injury is not a go-back."
Doan's national organization has a two-pronged approach to dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans: trauma resiliency training and service dog training.
Veterans selected for a dog must complete a six-month online Trauma Resiliency Program and a three-week, in-person portion of the course before they can start training with their dog, Doan said.
The course teaches them how to cope with trauma and how to use their dog in their healing journey.
Trauma resiliency is an important part of the program as the veteran is the one who must do the healing, and not the dog, said Doan.
"They (the dog) can't do it for you," Doan said. "They can walk beside you while you take that walk, but they can't do it for you. Any beloved dog does one thing. It buys time. Lean into your healing as much as you can during the time you have them. The old saying is time heals all wounds, but I can tell you time heals nothing. It is what you do with the time that does."
The dogs undergo 18 months of training starting as early as eight weeks old, Andrea Hansen, head dog trainer, said.
From day one, the dogs will go home with a trainer and learn how to not only be a service dog but how to also be part of a family unit, Hansen, of Murphysboro, said.
After both the veteran and the dog complete their individual training they come together to learn how to work as a team.
"It's always kind of a little bit bittersweet," Hansen said. "We do spend three weeks with the people that they're going to, so seeing that relationship grow and knowing that they're doing what we train them to do is really rewarding. It's always a little bit sad to give them up but going into it knowing that they're going to make a difference makes it easier."
The first time the veteran and dog meet is often a tear-filled one, according to Hansen.
The dogs will line up on one side of the room and the veterans another. Each pair will meet in the middle and either share a quiet hope-filled cuddle or an eager and excited first meeting, said Hansen.
Doan has witnessed several stories of hope throughout her time with This Able Veteran.
One of her favorite moments was the year she got to watch a young father work to heal his "raw open internal wounds" in the program to become a strong man for his daughter and wife, Doan said.
However, with hope, there is always loss.
At one of the conferences Doan was speaking at, a man told her about the loss of his son.
"I remember when I was doing a speaking engagement, someone stood up in the back and said, 'When our son came home from the military, he was a changed man," Doan said. "'He used to be the life of the party. Everybody's friend, his mother's son. When I came home, he was withdrawn. He was distant. He was angry.'"
After struggling without help, the young man died by suicide after spending a day with his family, according to Doan.
The struggle is a reality for many young veterans.
In 2018, the suicide rate among veterans was 17.6 per day. That's a slight increase from 2017, when it was 17.5 per day, according to the 2020 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report.
PTSD can be an isolating illness, and it is that isolation or silence that leads to the loss of life.
"We (society) believe that only those who can't handle it should seek mental health help ..." Doan said. "The silence makes the problem worse. So when we live in silence, it makes us sick. We are only as sick as we are silent. Speak out to someone. Speak your truth. There is freedom, and freedom is your birthright."
Any veteran that is in crisis can call the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255, text the line at 838255 or chat online here.
makayla.holder@thesouthern.com
thesouthern.com
CARBONDALE — Covered in fur and paw prints, one Carbondale not-for-profit has been training man's best friend to help veterans with PTSD.
This Able Veteran has been providing free service dogs to veterans since 2011. The hope is they can help decrease the number of veteran suicides per year and to them along their trauma journey.
"Our abilities may change, but they don't go away," Behesha Doan said. "It's just like dogs. If they have an injury, they lose a limb or an eye, they simply rely on the abilities they still have. I love that about them and what great teachers they are for us."
Doan is the founder and owner of This Able Veteran.
Her brother — a "lifer" in the military — brought her into that culture, Doan said.
That coupled with her own personal experiences with trauma led her to found This Able so many years ago.
"Many people living with trauma feel damaged, and the message I want to convey is that injury does not equal damage. Injuries are injuries, and injuries can heal. We are not damaged although we may be changed. A comeback from a trauma or an injury is not a go-back."
Doan's national organization has a two-pronged approach to dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans: trauma resiliency training and service dog training.
Veterans selected for a dog must complete a six-month online Trauma Resiliency Program and a three-week, in-person portion of the course before they can start training with their dog, Doan said.
The course teaches them how to cope with trauma and how to use their dog in their healing journey.
Trauma resiliency is an important part of the program as the veteran is the one who must do the healing, and not the dog, said Doan.
"They (the dog) can't do it for you," Doan said. "They can walk beside you while you take that walk, but they can't do it for you. Any beloved dog does one thing. It buys time. Lean into your healing as much as you can during the time you have them. The old saying is time heals all wounds, but I can tell you time heals nothing. It is what you do with the time that does."
The dogs undergo 18 months of training starting as early as eight weeks old, Andrea Hansen, head dog trainer, said.
From day one, the dogs will go home with a trainer and learn how to not only be a service dog but how to also be part of a family unit, Hansen, of Murphysboro, said.
After both the veteran and the dog complete their individual training they come together to learn how to work as a team.
"It's always kind of a little bit bittersweet," Hansen said. "We do spend three weeks with the people that they're going to, so seeing that relationship grow and knowing that they're doing what we train them to do is really rewarding. It's always a little bit sad to give them up but going into it knowing that they're going to make a difference makes it easier."
The first time the veteran and dog meet is often a tear-filled one, according to Hansen.
The dogs will line up on one side of the room and the veterans another. Each pair will meet in the middle and either share a quiet hope-filled cuddle or an eager and excited first meeting, said Hansen.
Doan has witnessed several stories of hope throughout her time with This Able Veteran.
One of her favorite moments was the year she got to watch a young father work to heal his "raw open internal wounds" in the program to become a strong man for his daughter and wife, Doan said.
However, with hope, there is always loss.
At one of the conferences Doan was speaking at, a man told her about the loss of his son.
"I remember when I was doing a speaking engagement, someone stood up in the back and said, 'When our son came home from the military, he was a changed man," Doan said. "'He used to be the life of the party. Everybody's friend, his mother's son. When I came home, he was withdrawn. He was distant. He was angry.'"
After struggling without help, the young man died by suicide after spending a day with his family, according to Doan.
The struggle is a reality for many young veterans.
In 2018, the suicide rate among veterans was 17.6 per day. That's a slight increase from 2017, when it was 17.5 per day, according to the 2020 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report.
PTSD can be an isolating illness, and it is that isolation or silence that leads to the loss of life.
"We (society) believe that only those who can't handle it should seek mental health help ..." Doan said. "The silence makes the problem worse. So when we live in silence, it makes us sick. We are only as sick as we are silent. Speak out to someone. Speak your truth. There is freedom, and freedom is your birthright."
Any veteran that is in crisis can call the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255, text the line at 838255 or chat online here.
makayla.holder@thesouthern.com
'We are not damaged'; Man's best friend, This Able Veteran help combat veteran suicide, PTSD
This Able Veteran has been providing free service dogs to veterans since 2011. The hope is they can help decrease the number of veteran suicides per year and to them
