Damaged Vets Need Healing
editorial by Everett J. Thomas in the February 17, 2009 issue of The Mennonite.
Some ambitious and savvy young Mennonites addressed another national shame nearly 60 years ago: the treatment of the mentally ill in asylums and hospital wards. They helped galvanize national interest. It brought a sea change to attitudes about mental illness and treatment. Where among us now might be another such group of energized young Mennonites ready to spark a similar phenomenon today? To read more...

The Wounds of War
by Carolyn Holderread Heggen
A call to welcome combat veterans who are paralyzed with shame and suffering terrors of the soul.

"This is not a ministry intended to "fix" veterans so they can return to battle. It is a commitment to listen to their disturbing stories, to call them to repentance and extend God's mercy and forgiveness, to help them engage in acts of reconstruction and justice making, to love them and their families into our community of faith where we can together learn what it means to be pilgrims on a journey of amazing grace."  To read more...

The Wounds of War was published in the July 8, 2008 issue of The Mennonite. Carolyn Holderread Heggen lives in Corvallis, Ore., and is a member of the Albany (Ore.) Mennonite Church. She is a psychotherapist who specializes in trauma recovery.

Information on trauma healing from Mennonite Central Committee:
Community Trauma Healing
by Dirk Eitzen and Carolyn Yoder
Eitzen, a professor of Film & Media Studies at Franklin & Marshall College and an independent documentary producer, wrote and directed the documentary "The Tsunami's Wake: Healing from Trauma." Yoder is a former director of the Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience program at Eastern Mennonite University and author of "The Little Book of Trauma Healing." She is now an international consultant in community trauma healing.

The community-based approach to trauma healing works to mobilize the healing resources already present in communities to help those who are suffering. It integrates modern mental health care practices with traditional forms of healing, economic self-help projects, spiritual expression, nonviolent conflict transformation and other activities such as storytelling and play that bring people together at the same time they bring about healing. Like the cast on a broken limb, these activities provide support for broken souls and broken communities, so that the wounds can properly heal themselves.  Read the whole article

• Watch clips from the video The Tsunami's Wake

• From the MCC-US Conscientious Objection site, read the story of Tim and Yvette Coil and find links to more information about PTSD and veterans. Tim Coil became a conscientious objector while serving in the U.S. Army and later was diagnosed with PTSD. In July of 2005, Tim shared his story with several hundred youth at the Mennonite Church USA Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tim and Yvette were both featured on a Mennonite Media DVD called "Peace DVD."

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