On Oct. 4, The Times Union published an article about the college’s Veteran Resource and Outreach Center (VET-ROC), which is located on the first floor of the Siek Campus Center.
In his weekly column, “Duty Calls,” Terry Brown profiles center staff: Dan Wargo, coordinator, and Christina Holst, veteran peer tutor, Marine and Army veterans, respectively.
Duty Calls: Pair ready to help peers with PTSD
Two war veterans who cope with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are ready to help veterans at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy.
The pair can do more than help veterans cope with PTSD at HVCC through the Pfc. Joseph Dwyer Peer Support Program of Rensselaer County. The program commemorates a medic from Manhattan who served in the Iraq war. But his post-war struggles with PTSD resulted in him committing suicide.
Eight-year-Marine veteran Dan Wargo of Colonie, a veteran of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, and 16-year Army veteran Christina Holst of Waterford, an Iraq war veteran, are ready to help steer veterans to a smooth enrollment in HVCC and help them cope with PTSD caused by Afghanistan, Iraq, other war and other situations such as sexual abuse.
The former sergeant Wargo, a 2011 Shaker High School graduate, majored in criminal justice at HVCC before he enlisted in the Marine Corps. He served as a joint fires (forward artillery) observer and other missions with the 2nd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company at Bagram Air Base and at other locations with Fox Company of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines during tours in the Afghanistan War. He also served as a joint terminal attack controller in the Iraq war before he left military duty.
The Peer program coordinator also is an assistant lacrosse coach at HVCC.
The former staff sergeant Holst served in a variety of military jobs while on active duty and in the Army reserve. She served in civil affairs missions, administrative, ordnance, and human resource roles. She has earned a bachelor of science degree in environmental science and forestry and an associate degree. She also is a retired State Park Police officer.
Now they point veterans in the right direction during their HVCC studies, including taking advantage of G.I. Bill education and other veteran entitlements. They also are ready to help veterans cope with the impact of the recent U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Wargo and Holst are available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily in Room 164 at the Veterans Resource and Outreach Center in the Siek Campus Center, HVCC, 80 Vandenburgh Ave., Troy. For information, contact Wargo or Holst at 518- 629-7051 or www.hvcc.edu/veterans.
They can help PTSD veterans through equestrian, dog therapy, other therapeutic programs.
The Dwyer program also offers peer-to-peer counseling to any of the HVCC’s more than 350 veterans suffering PTSD or Traumatic Brain Injury and any veteran looking to reintegrate into civilian society, according to Wargo. They veterans from the entire region, not just Rensselaer County.
“Many veterans are often reluctant to speak with anyone who is unable to understand the mental and physical challenges they face daily,” Wargo says. “Trained to keep doubts and vulnerabilities to themselves, veterans are hesitant to discuss issues such as mental health, relationships with family and friends and barriers to regain sustainability. This can lead to a destructive and devastating journey when they arrive back home; including substance abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, homelessness, chronic unemployment an suicide.”
That’s when the Peer Support Program can provide non-clinical support by veterans top veterans, Wargo adds. At Hudson Valley, veterans are not along in any struggles.
“In the Armed Services we are taught to have each other backs, and that is what we will continue to do here at Hudson Valley’s VET-ROC,” says Wargo.
Wargo and Holst also can help veterans connect to veteran Peer mentors, the college’s Armed Forces Club, veteran’s benefits and scholarships, an Armed Forces Study Room, and campus resources and support services. Just ask.
Dan Wargo and Christina Holst stand ready to help veterans settle in at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy and provide assistance with benefits, PTSD and other issues. (HVCC photo: Vincent Giordano)
Published: Tue, 05 Oct 2021 11:50:29 +0000 by d.gardner