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Headstrong Project: healing the hidden wounds of war, for free
For a number of military service members, past and present, money can be an obstacle that stands between them and their mental health. Headstrong eliminates that obstacle by providing free mental health care to service members and their families.
For a number of military service members, past and present, money can be an obstacle that stands between them and their mental health. Headstrong eliminates that obstacle by providing free mental health care to service members and their families.
Headstrong was founded in New York City in 2012 by Zach Iscol, Al Rabil, and Dave Petrucco, all veterans. Having been through the mental ringer themselves, they understood that getting help, especially for military personnel, could be challenging. Not just logistically, but emotionally.
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Service members are proud people. We pride ourselves on self reliance, strength, and resilience. All too often, veterans feel as though they’re betraying those virtues when they raise their hand and say, “I’m not okay — I need help.” Headstrong recognizes this and provides “confidential, barrier-free and stigma-free evidence-based treatment approaches” in a way that veterans feel comfortable asking for.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">That’s a lot of star power at the Headstrong Gala ⭐️<br>-<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Veterans?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Veterans</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MentalHealth?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MentalHealth</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GetHeadstrong?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GetHeadstrong</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DCGala?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DCGala</a> <a href="https://t.co/JzePp4TBAM">pic.twitter.com/JzePp4TBAM</a></p>— Headstrong Project (@HeadstrongProj) <a href="https://twitter.com/HeadstrongProj/status/1456040731408277504?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 3, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
My Journey With Headstrong
Last year, I flew out to California for six weeks to film the second season of A Grunt’s Life, a series on Veteran Entertainment Television (VET Tv) set in 2008 Afghanistan. While the experience was incredibly cathartic, it was also emotionally draining. A number of the scenes I acted in and even more scenes that I directed forced me to regress to my absolute worse version of myself.
I came home different and my family noticed the change. It wasn’t something I could shake on my own. I was once again suffering under the weight of memories and experiences that I’d kept buried for over 15 years.
A Marine buddy of mine — who has been advocating for Headstrong for years — helped me to schedule a consultation. Long story short, I’ve been seeing the same counselor at the same time for almost half a year now and I’m the happiest I’ve been in a long time.
I’ve since referred several of my veteran buddies to Headstrong and will continue to do so. If you’re hurting, get help. It’s free and anonymous. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.
