Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Conner Blake | 230927-N-TC338-1007 NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (September 27, 2023) Sailors from Naval...... read more read more
To close out Suicide Prevention Month, Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC) Rota and Sailor Resiliency Center hosted a pier-side mental health self-care fair on board Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota, Sept. 27, 2023.
“We wanted to put on an event for the active duty service members on the installation for suicide prevention month,” said Lt. Anamarie Gonzalez, embedded mental health provider for Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 60. “Letting them know what resources are available for everyone here, making sure they know who they can contact, and put a face to a name.”
In addition to the event coordinators of embedded health and FFSC, there were representatives from Military Family Life Counselors (MFLCs), Naval Hospital’s Health Promotion, CREDO, and chaplains from the ships.
As the Sailors – many from the forward-deployed naval forces (FDNF) destroyers – made their way through the event, they were able to collect resource cards, information and handouts. They learned mindfulness techniques, information on journaling and goal-setting, played trivia games, and engaged in meaningful conversations.
“I’m really happy with the attendance,” said Veronica Wruble, counseling supervisor for FFSC. “We weren’t sure but it seems like it’s a well-received event…This [event] is designed to give you tools and coping skills and resources so when you are in bad times, you can remind yourself that it’s a temporary situation.”
Wruble said she hopes that the Sailors walked away knowing that everything – experiences, emotions – is temporary, and now had some coping skills they can use during those difficult times. Items such as humor, peer or familial support, healthy eating, and personal resiliency to name a few.
“It’s all part of the bigger picture of mental health,” she said. “This event was designed to remind Sailors of that!”
As the Sailors exited the mental health fair, many commented that they were happy that they stopped by the event. Some stated they reminded of base resources, others were amazed at the diversity of programs available, and others discovered new techniques and coping skills to employ while on deployment.
This was exactly what the event coordinators hoped when planning the event.
“Being overseas has its own challenges and being FDNF has its own challenges,” said Gonzalez. “So making sure people know what resources are available, and who they can turn to when they need it.”
As the "Gateway to the Mediterranean,” NAVSTA Rota provides U.S., NATO and allied forces a strategic hub for operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. NAVSTA Rota is a force multiplier, capable of promptly deploying and supporting combat-ready forces through land, air and sea, enabling warfighters and their families, sustaining the fleet and fostering the U.S. and Spanish partnership.
| Date Taken: | 09.29.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 09.29.2023 04:33 |
| Story ID: | 454650 |
| Location: | ES |
| Web Views: | 126 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Rota Services Hosts Pier-side Mental Health Self-Care Event, by Courtney Pollock, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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