Photo By Seaman Jarrod Bury | 20240919-N-EN232-1011 Newport News, Va. (Sept. 19, 2024) Jennifer Weiss, left, and...... read more read more
Subscribe
NEWPORTS NEWS, Va. – Suicide awareness is a serious topic anywhere, both inside and outside of the military. In an effort to raise greater mental health awareness, the Navy has created multiple new programs in order to aide Sailors. These programs have dedicated themselves to promoting mental health, such as the Armed Forces Wellness Center (AFWC), which has 36 locations across the United States, including one here in Newport News, Virginia.
Located at the Huntington Hall Naval Berthing Facility, the center - which opened in January of this year – is a Defense Health Agency led initiative that provides physical and mental health wellness resources. Their services include one-on-one health coaching, providing stress management training, and classes on proper self-care. One of their main goals is to provide resources to those that may not have regular access.
The center provides a variety of ways for service members to cope with stress and suicidal ideation, including evaluations using the perceived stress scale (PSS) form every 30 days, helping to identify stress levels. Health coaches then work closely with the service members over a 14 to 90 day period, recommending services as needed, such as referrals to the Embedded Integrated Prevention Counselor (EIPC) or in urgent cases, the National Suicide Hotline. Sailors can take monthly courses on proper nutrition and sleep, as well as stress mitigation.
“A lot of these assessments are for trying to find out or provide awareness for where you are in regards to reaching your goals,” stated Jennifer Weiss, lead health educator for the center. ‘We will be there for accountability, and provide resources when needed.”
Individualized stress management courses utilize new biofeedback technology to allow the user to better understand and control their bodily functions and responses to both internal and external factors, such as physical pain and stress. This helps the user to access a healthy, high-performance state and allows the user to be able to more effectively combat stress.
“Those are probably the two major ones (tests) that we refer people out to,” stated Weiss.
Weiss joined the Armed Forces Wellness Center in April. She specializes in behavioral health, which is a key focus of the center. She enjoys helping Sailors reach their individual goals, whether they are physical, emotional, or mental.
“We focus on providing the tools and resources needed to combat areas that Sailors may struggle with,” said Weiss. According to Weiss, positive changes to service member’s physical and mental health, paired with a supportive environment, can contribute to reducing risk for suicide.
While the center is not as extensive in its coverage as other agencies, it does serve as a crucial hub for referrals and tailored information about more specific services. Those services work in tandem with the center to disseminate information to service members. No referrals are required to visit the center itself, although appointments are required for one-on-one health coaching.
“Anytime we are working with somebody and they need a little more assistance, we can actually send them on their way to make sure that they get the help they need.” stated Weiss. “And if there are signs that may indicate the person is at risk, we can immediately reach out to mental health professionals as well, and refer service members to them.”
Mental health is an integral part in ensuring the crew meets the needs of serving onboard an active warship, but also for personal wellbeing. With more mental health resources available than ever before, Weiss hopes that Sailors will take advantage, getting the tools they need to be in the headspace they deserve.
Sailors can find more information on available mental health resources by contacting AFWC via call or text at 948-205-0105.
| Date Taken: | 09.27.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.30.2024 11:41 |
| Story ID: | 482088 |
| Location: | NEWPORT NEWS-HAMPTON-WILLIAMSBURG AIRPORT, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 41 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Armed Forces Wellness Center Offers New Resources in Effort to Raise Suicide Awareness, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
