MIRECC / CoE

Rocky Mountain Short Takes on Suicide Prevention: The Camouflage Closet: Strong, Resilient LGBT Veterans!

5 April 2017

This week we have invited the LGBT Care Coordinators from the Denver VA, Ana Balzar, MSW and Shelby Scott, PhD, to interview the Producer and Director of the film "The Camouflage Closet", Heliana Ramirez, LISW and Michael Nedelman. The film grew out of a group LGBT Veterans that Heliana was working with at the Palo Alto VA. Nine Veterans were given cameras to tell their stories; their resiliency, their strength and their efforts overcoming. An amazing quote from the podcasts comes when Heliana reports on research indicating that 75% of all Veterans with PTSD state that they have also experienced PTSD Growth.

• Learn more about The Camouflage Closet at their website (including how to request a screening, which we highly recommend!)
• Download LGBT Veteran Health Care Fact Sheets that provide to Veterans important information about their unique health risks and relevant services offered by VA
• Visit the VA Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) LGBT Program
• Visit VA Patient Care Services Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Veteran Care
• Heliana Ramirez: If We Ask, What They Might Tell: Clinical Assessment Lessons from LGBT Military Personnel Post-DADT
• Heliana Ramirez: Coming out in camouflage: A queer theory perspective on the strength, resilience, and resistance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender service members and veterans

The podcast is approximately 52 minutes long.

You can find all our podcasts at iTunes on your iPhone or on your Android device. You can also find all our episodes at our host site. Other places where you can find our podcasts include: iHeart Radio, and Blubrry.

Categories: Suicide Prevention