When service members put on their uniforms, their families shoulder the weight of military life alongside them. Now, New York is launching a program designed just for those families: a virtual \u201chealing haven\u201d for military spouses.<\/p>\n
For Cindy Meili, whose husband has served for three decades and whose two sons are in the Air Force, the need for such a space has been clear for years.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur unique challenges we face, like our frequent moves or lack of child care, or just our specific needs in our relocations or career interruptions, or just the emotional toll of military life,\u201d she said, “are often hard for others to understand.”<\/p>\n
Meili shared her experience with her daughter-in-law, who is facing many of the same pressures.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Healing Haven is a statewide, twice-monthly virtual peer-support program for spouses of service members and veterans
\n
Sessions are confidential and led by stress-relief expert Brett Cotter, focusing on identifying and managing emotions tied to military life
\n
The program is in a trial phase through the end of the year, with hopoes it becomes a permanent part of state veterans’ services<\/p>\n
\u201cThe things that she was feeling and thinking were normal. Are normal,\u201d Meili said. \u201cIt\u2019s OK sometimes not to be OK and to be able to cry it out if you need to \u2026 but don\u2019t be afraid to build that support network.\u201d<\/p>\n
That kind of support is at the heart of Healing Haven for Military Spouses, a new statewide, peer-to-peer program from the New York State Department of Veterans\u2019 Services. The initiative offers confidential virtual gatherings twice a month for spouses of service members and veterans, giving them a place to connect, share and be heard.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt 25 years old, I had a 6-month-old baby boy, and I put my husband on a plane to Iraq,\u201d recalled military spouse and advocate Tracy DuShane. \u201cIn 2003, we didn\u2019t have those supports as an active-duty military spouse.\u201d<\/p>\n