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DUO WORKS TO HELP HOMELESS VETERANS -- "I have

an understanding of where combat vets come from

and the difficulties they face, and the best thing

I can do is give back and help."

 

 

For more about homeless veterans, use the VA Watchdog search engine...click here...
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Story here... http://www.azstarnet.
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Story below:

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Duo works to help homeless veterans

By Loni Nannini

Special to the Arizona Daily Star

If you think Gotham City is the only place with a Dynamic Duo, think again: Tucson has its own nonprofit superheroes.

Among the pairs to be recognized by Compass Health Care at the 12th annual Dynamic Duo Awards next Sunday are Laura Carrillo and Noel Sharpe, case managers with Comin' Home. The nonprofit provides support services for veterans, and the pair are one of 31 twosomes being hailed for their efforts to make the community a better place.

Comin' Home assists veterans struggling with issues such as homelessness, unemployment, mental and physical disabilities and substance abuse. About 350 veterans each year benefit from treatment and life skills programs and other services including resource support in job placement and securing service-related pensions, Social Security and other benefits. Comin' Home also offers transitional housing in on-site apartments and other facilities.

Sans capes, Carrillo and Sharpe are crusaders for veterans — each with unique perspectives.

"These are the people that signed up to serve our country and are willing to lay down their lives so our children can grow up in a free country," said Sharpe, a civilian who best described the clients she works with as honorable. "They have run into problems and need help and I want to be there.

"They have a lot of pride."

Carrillo, a Desert Storm veteran who also acts as coordinator of client services, sees the work as her calling. After 12 years in the Navy, where she became a counselor, she earned a business degree before deciding to return to the business of people.

"I have an understanding of where combat vets come from and the difficulties they face, and the best thing I can do is give back and help," she said.

Executive Director Mary Pat Sullivan said that Comin' Home is fortunate to have Carrillo and Sharpe, who have helped hundreds of veterans progressively regain their productivity.

"They help them get back on their feet and move toward independent living," Sullivan said. "These are formerly — and soon to be again — successful people. Because they are veterans, they all come with skills and ethics."

Carrillo said that many veterans, including those who did not experience combat, struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder.

She said factors such as substance abuse, childhood abuse and trauma in the military can lead to depression and mental illness, creating a downward spiral.

"It is difficult for them to feel like they fit and to cope with everyday living," she said. "I have a group called Recovery Principles that teaches them how to cope with stressors and recognize when they are under stress . . . and learn to head it off without becoming overwhelmed."

Sharpe emphasized that she and Carrillo help veterans work toward "progress, not perfection."

Empowerment of those with addiction-related issues as they work toward long-term recovery is a philosophy embraced by Compass Health Care as well. The nonprofit organization promotes recovery and wellness for individuals with addiction and related mental illness and for their families.

The Dynamic Duo Awards support important prevention programs for children and adolescents while offering kudos to those performing significant work in the community, according to Compass Health Care Director of Community Relations Cynthia Klein.

"The beauty of our event is there are lots of little projects and small nonprofits that many people have not heard about, and we hope to help get the word out," she said.

 

Contact freelance writer Loni Nannini at ninch@comcast.net.

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Larry Scott  --