CENTER CITY, Minn. (March 11, 2015) – Responding to calls from the President’s Office of National Drug Control Policy for more peer support options for the nation’s military members and veterans, the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is launching a new online support meeting available for free to U.S. veterans and active military personnel everywhere.
Moe Armstrong, founder of the national “Vet to Vet” program, will chair the weekly support meeting. Vet to Vet helps veterans mentor and provide support meetings for each other on topics related to wellness and recovery from addiction and mental illness.
“We are so happy to provide the digital platform for these meetings and to partner with Moe Armstrong, a Vietnam veteran who has committed his life to helping his peers,” said Nick Motu, vice president of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation’s Institute for Recovery Advocacy. “We all know that veterans home from war can struggle for years with the effects of trauma. Peer support, along with solid professional help when needed, gives our heroes the chance to restore sane, stable, safe and sober lives.”
“Our motto is Each One, Reach One, Teach One,” added Armstrong. “Together, we can change our lives. We can free ourselves from abuse. We can live and navigate through life. We can be in charge of our destiny.”
Motu noted that the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation would also provide speakers and additional facilitators for the group.
The new online meeting is open to all current and former U.S. military personnel and will be held Fridays at 7 p.m. Eastern time, starting March 13. To attend, please join the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation’s free online Social Community at www.HazeldenBettyFord.org/social, click on the Chat Now button at the bottom of the screen and then enter “Room A” at the meeting time.
About the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation helps people reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction. It is the nation’s largest nonprofit treatment provider, with a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding of the Betty Ford Center. With 16 sites in California, Minnesota, Oregon, Illinois, New York, Florida, Massachusetts, Colorado and Texas, the Foundation offers prevention and recovery solutions nationwide and across the entire continuum of care for youth and adults. It includes the largest recovery publishing house in the country, a fully-accredited graduate school of addiction studies, an addiction research center, an education arm for medical professionals and a unique children’s program, and is the nation’s leader in advocacy and policy for treatment and recovery. Learn more at www.hazeldenbettyford.org.
