They sacrifice everything. They fight for freedom.  They risk their lives.  Military veterans help make the American dream a reality.  Yet upon return from service, so many suffer and are at a loss as tohow to rebuild their lives.

Military Assistance Personal Support (MAPS) is a community development to foster conversation between local agencies in the county to work toward providing adequate support for military veterans.

“The purpose of MAPS is to identify gaps in providing for the needs of our veterans,” Greg Jacobik, Altuiig Inter-Service Family Assistance Coordinator said. “You’ve got to have people on the ground — assistance to know where the gaps are.”

In 2010, more than 1,850 military families, sponsors, spouses and deportees resided in St. Clair County.  Now more than 7,000 veterans live here.

To date, MAPS has succeeded in forming an ad hoc steering committee to further develop a vision for the county in determining how to serve veterans and military families.  The committee is made up of the local chapters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and the American Legion.  The committee is working on gaining support from such local agencies and organizations as the American Red Cross, Lakeside Hospice, faith-based groups, county healthcare providers, employment and educational support and support from other community groups.

Jacobik identified three areas of need for military veterans and their families: employment, education and wellness.  The idea behind MAPS is to create a centralized information source for veterans and families to turn to when seeking assistance.

“When military personnel return home they need a place to start, and MAPS is intended to provide that by working on a concerted effort to help them get jobs, start businesses and seek out opportunities for educational funding.”

Another area of concern for returning military service men and women and veterans is health and wellness.

“So many veterans come back and suffer from things like PTSD, and other people don’t know how to deal with that.  Many veterans simply refuse to seek help because they don’t want it on record, because they are worried it will affect things like security clearance and job promotions,” Jacobik said, adding that MAPS addresses these concerns, using available resources.  

“For example, our generation has the world at its finger tips.  All we have to do is push a button and we’re there.  It’s that simple.”

Jacobik explained the significance of using an app on a mobile phone to obtain necessary information.  One app called PTSD Coach allows individuals to take self-assessments to determine whether they should seek help.  

Another key element to the success of MAPS is strategic communication.  “Part of identifying gaps means identifying the gaps in communication between families, communities and leaders. Identifying community leaders helps get the conversation going because when they speak people listen.”