BUDDY PROGRAM:

HELPING OUR
FORGOTTEN HEROES

PRESENTED BY: NATALIE BRADISH

 For Presentation:
• 50% of the audience will be able to identify at least two
mental health disorders many veterans suffer from.
• 50% of the audience will be able to know the statistics
surrounding veteran suicide rates in Georgia.

OBJECTIVES For Project:

• More geriatric depression scale assessments will be
done periodically on veterans who score higher than a
5 on the assessment to ensure routine mental health
care screening.
• Buddy Program will be taken over by an organization to
make this project sustainable.
 INTRODUCTION
WHO AM I?
• Natalie Bradish
• From Grovetown, Georgia
• Senior Public Health Student
• Member of Public Health
Student Organization
• Assistant manager at Maurice's
located in the Milledgeville Mall
WHY AM I HERE?
• Graduation requirement
• I have a deep passion for
working with veterans
• I want to advocate for the
mental health of our veterans
ABOUT GEORGIA WAR
VETERAN’S HOME
• “It is an honor and privilege to
provide high-quality care to our
nation's veterans, each and every
day. As a member of the Pruitt
Health family of providers, we
strive to deliver the same level of
integrity and commitment that
our veterans experienced and
demonstrated while in service.”

• Located at 2249 Vinson Highway ,

Milledgeville, Georgia 31061
• Phone number (478)-445-
3234
• 24-hour care
SECTION 1 – THE
PURPOSE
 SUICIDE RATES FOR
VETERANS IN GEORGIA

• More male veterans

committed suicide in
Georgia than women in
2016.
• Almost 95% of
suicides were male
veterans
• About 5% of suicides
were female veterans
CONTINUED SUICIDE RATES
 VETERAN MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE

• “A study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

Administration revealed that only 50 percent of returning vets who need
veteran mental health treatment will receive these services.”
• Barriers preventing treatment:
• Personal embarrassment about service-related mental disabilities
• Long wait times to receive mental health treatment
• Shame/Fear over needing to seek mental health treatment
• Stigma associated with mental health issues
• A lack of understanding or lack of awareness about mental health problems and
treatment options
 DEPRESSION ANXIETY POST TRAUMATIC MOST
STRESS
DISORDER (PTSD) COMMON
VETERAN
MENTAL
HEALTH
DISORDERS
SUBSTANCE USE BIPOLARISM SCHIZOPHRENIA
 HOW DO THESE DISORDERS AFFECT
OUR VETERAN POPULATION?

• Depression : 13.5%
• Serious Mental Illness (Schizophrenia
and Bipolar): 3.7%
• Anxiety : 4.8%
• PTSD : 9.3%
• Substance Use : 8.3%
SECTION 2 - THE
PROJECT
WHY I CHOSE MY PROJECT

• I have a huge heart for our veterans and their

mental health.
• It’s important to have contact from the outside
world.
• I also wanted the college to be involved with the
Georgia War Veterans Home because it’s a great way
to get volunteer service hours.
• I wanted this to be long-lasting and easily taken over
by an organization through the college after I left.
 WHERE I STARTED

• I began with talking to my site supervisor about the Buddy Program.

• We sat down and made a list of veterans who are residents there
that we thought would benefit from this program.
• I reached out on Bobcat Exchange asking for volunteers who are
currently students at GCSU.
• Officially I had 4 volunteers who went through the confidentiality
agreement and HIPPA training.
 WHAT I PLANNED FOR THE BUDDY
PROGRAM
• I was able to use a geriatric depression scale as pre and post
assessments on the veterans I would be giving a “Buddy” to.
• Once I did a pre-assessment, I would be able to come back in a
couple weeks and do the post-assessment to see if their feelings had
changed.
• The buddies were able to sign-in on a volunteer sheet and I provided
volunteer badges for them to wear while at the facility.
• Volunteers could do anything with the veterans if they weren’t being
taken off the campus or at risk for being harmed.
 WORK PRODUCED
FLYER AND VOLUNTEER SIGN- GERIATRIC DEPRESSION SCALE THAT
IN SHEET MR.DEAN LET ME USE FOR MY
ASSESSMENTS
 IF YOU KNOW A VETERAN
WHO MAY BE IN CRISIS,
PLEASE CONTACT THE
HOTLINE BELOW

• Veterans Crisis Line - 1-

800-273-8255 (1-800-
273-TALK)
• Texting service number
- #838255
• Staffed by mental
health professionals
24 hours a day, seven
days a week
 Thank you for being here today and
for joining me on my journey
through my internship.
THAT’S A
WRAP!

QUESTIONS? If you have any questions or

concerns, please feel free to call or
email me.
Natalie.Bradish@bobca
(706)-945-
ts.gcsu.edu 5522
 RESOURCES

• http://www.pruitthealth.com/microsite?facilityId=362
• https://onceasoldier.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Georgia_2016.pdf
• https://nvf.org/veteran-mental-health-facts-statistics/
• https://www.research.va.gov/topics/mental_health.cfm#research7
• https://images.app.goo.gl/ek4jZ6q8djWoFXVv9
• https://images.app.goo.gl/JvibVsTq7wcbAXj28
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4638236/
• https://images.app.goo.gl/yrspNtdGJevQqpPk8