Amid ongoing cuts to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, more Cumberland County veterans are turning to SouthLight’s Veteran Buddy Check program to find community and get help.
Each week, the number of veterans the program serves doubles, according to Wade Adair, SouthLight veteran peer support specialist running the Veteran Buddy Check Program.
“This is a safe place for veterans and service members, and their families to come to meet with peers and to seek help getting resources,” he said.
Launched in 2019 by the American Legion, the Buddy Check program organizes periodic wellness checks on veterans. These checks help connect them with community or VA resources, from mental health treatment to food assistance.
SouthLight, a substance use disorder treatment provider, began its Veteran Buddy Check program in April at its Fayetteville location. Every month from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Adair sits down with veterans from Cumberland and surrounding counties to ask them how they’re doing.
Over coffee and breakfast, Adair listens to their struggles. Some tell the group they can’t get their driver’s license or find a job. Others pull Adair aside to say they’re going hungry or need help starting counseling.
Adair works to connect every veteran with a solution in the same meeting. He develops a plan that addresses their needs and follows up with them daily.
“My whole attack plan is to get in front of them as soon as I can and show them that we’re for real, that we’re really helping,” Adair said.
Two veterans’ plans involved partnering with community organizations like Off-Road Outreach, a local nonprofit helping homeless veterans, to buy groceries for their families. Adair asked others when he could drive them to the Fayetteville Social Security office on Rowan Street so he could help them get Social Security cards.
Adair said developing the plan while the veteran is at SouthLight Fayetteville eliminates the trust issues many veterans have with organizations that have delays in accessing programs, especially the VA. He said many veterans get discouraged, particularly when it comes to mental health care at the VA, and throw in the towel on getting help. Long wait times and delayed appointments can cause veterans to never return, Adair said.
“You may never see them again,” he said. “You just lost that person back to whatever issue that they were dealing with and that they needed help with.”
Some patients have to wait up to 95 days to access care at the Fayetteville VA Medical Center, according to data on the VA’s Access to Care site. A new patient seeking mental health care will likely wait 33 days for an appointment. Someone who’s been going to the medical center for post-traumatic stress disorder treatment will likely wait 64 days.
Even if veterans get an appointment at a VA location, Adair said it can be pushed back weeks or months. Adair was an Army combat infantryman for nine years and served in Operation Desert Storm. As a veteran, he uses the VA to treat his chronic pain, PTSD and major depressive disorder. One of his VA appointments was recently delayed an additional 90 days.
“We’re trying to fill the gaps in where they’re not receiving treatment in a timely fashion and high-quality treatment.”
As a state-certified peer support specialist, Adair uses his experience to help veterans attending Buddy Check meetings.
While Adair isn’t certified to fill out VA paperwork or provide mental health treatment, he will make appointments with people who can, get veterans to those appointments and wait for them outside.
“I’m their friend, their battle buddy and their guide,” Adair said.
Adair recognized that asking for help can be difficult for veterans. Stigma often surrounds service members seeking treatment for mental health disorders, with fears that it will impact their careers, Lt Col. Julie Shin, deputy chief of behavioral health at Womack Army Medical Center, previously told CityView. Adair said the stigma is still present when service members become veterans, making it hard for them to seek out treatment.
It’s why he uses his story coming out of his chronic pain and depression induced substance use disorder to highlight how lifesaving asking for help can be. Without the initial phone call to the Vet Center, Adair said he wouldn’t have made it out of the “black cloud” that he found himself in.
“I encourage all my brothers and sisters, if you’re needing help, just do the first reach-out,” he said. “The rest is a lot easier.”
Adair is partnering with community veteran services organizations to provide the resources veterans need but aren’t available at SouthLight. He invites those community partners to attend Buddy Check meetings and present their services to attendees.
Besides nonprofits like Off-Road Outreach, SouthLight partners with local, state and federal government agencies like the Cumberland County Department of Social Services. SouthLight also partners with the VA, although it isn’t a affiliated with the agency.
Adair is also actively pursuing partnerships with other organizations so he can meet the needs of any veteran seeking help.
SouthLight’s next Veteran Buddy Check meeting is on Wednesday, June 11, from 9 to 11 a.m. at 439 Ramsey Street. Veterans with questions about the program can contact Adair at 984-389-6682 or adairw@southlight.org. Information can also be found on SouthLight’s website.
CityView Reporter Morgan Casey is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Morgan’s reporting focuses on health care issues in and around Cumberland County and can be supported through the News Foundation of Greater Fayetteville.