Make the Connection

Events, General News

Want to mention to all Veterans in the Tampa Bay area of a special presentation this Thursday,  August 11, 2016 at 2:00 PM at St. Pete City Hall (Community Resource Room). Come hear about an exciting new initiative of the Department of Veteran Affairs. This initiative is called the “Make the Connection Campaign” that is working to reduce the stigma of veterans afflicted with mental health conditions.

Make the Connection looks to reduce mental health stigma, by sharing a collection of over 500 personal Veteran stories aimed at encouraging others to reach out for mental health help when they need it.  Veterans can listen to stories from someone who has walked in their shoes, learn about ways they found support, and locate resources to connect them to care.  Here is a compilation of some stories of recovery.

Claire Woodward, and a team from the Department of Veteran Affairs, will be there to share information about the initiative and to have a discussion about and how we can use it to support veterans in our community. I encourage everyone to attend-this promises to be a very informative meeting.

About Jeff Cavanagh

Jeff Cavanagh spent his freshman year at St. Petersburg Junior College back in the early 70s before enlisting in the United States Navy. Soon after, he attended Jacksonville University on a Navy ROTC scholarship. After college, he was commissioned and became a qualified Surface Warfare Officer spending the next 22 years honing his skills as a ship-handler and expert recruiter before retiring in 1994. Jeff expresses a deep sense of pride in St. Petersburg College due to connections that go back many years. His father, Tom Cavanagh, was a career Air Force fighter pilot and combat veteran who taught Geography and Western Civilization at St. Petersburg Junior College in the 60’s and 70’s.