FRONT LINE is NAMI Kern County's creation to offer outreach to the veterans, their families and loved ones of our community. FRONT LINE is a monthly community collaborative of Resources in our community. We network with individuals committed to assisting veterans and their families in the faith community; in housing; in obtaining benefits; in educational training; in accessing medical and behavioral health services, and in other needed resources.
FRONT LINE holds quarterly educational and resource conferences, open to the community, to increase awareness and educate the public on issues faced by the veterans and their families. Our Speakers Bureau includes experts, veterans and families themselves who are available to speak at service organizations to increase community understanding and awareness.
FRONT LINE is also a network of weekly support groups facilitated by NAMI-trained family facilitators for the veterans, their families and others committed to serve.
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Article from NAMI California Electronic Newsletter 03-01-2010
www.namicalifornia.org
NAMI Kern Members Serve Veterans with Honor
NAMI Kern's JR and Nicole Browning were recently interviewed by NBC Affiliate Channel17 in Bakersfield about the traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress suffered by uncounted thousands of returning American troops. JR, a sergeant in one of the first units to enter Baghdad in 2003, experienced more than twenty nearby explosions in those early days. He returned after two tours of duty with combat stress, constant headaches, and memory loss. The Army medicated him heavily while on duty, so he wasn't aware of most of his PTSD and TBI symptoms until he came home.
Today, JR is an advocate for NAMI Kern, helping with its signature Front Line program, serving returning veterans and their families. His wife, Nicole, is a member of the NAMI Kern board. Nicole attended the NAMI Family-to-Family course, while JR has completed Peer-to-Peer training and teaches courses to vets with PTSD. Both
have spoken bravely at conferences, hoping to help others to recover, and they maintaina blog on PTSD. JR is attending college, studying history and law, while Nicole has started an art
consulting business. She told NBC Affiliate News Anchor Jim Scott that we should prepare now for "an epidemic" of PTSD and TBI.
http://www.kget.com/news/local/story/Brain-Injuries- The-Silent-Epidemic/jPkmboqI7E64G3lQYtEnZg.cspx
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"The War Within: Eyewitness News Investigates PTSD,"
KBAK/KBFX-TV
This November 2008 special report on veterans' Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder features
NAMI Kern County's FRONT LINE
To watch the video, please click here.