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 The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (MDVA) is grateful to our more than 1,500 employees who have chosen a career serving those who have served. The month of May offers an opportunity to recognize all of our staff through several special weeks.
We celebrate all of our Veterans Homes? staff the week of May 14 - 20 during the annual Minnesota Veterans Homes Week. Established by the American Health Care Association (AHCA) in 1967 and known nationally as Skilled Nursing Care Week, this week recognizes the essential role of skilled nursing care centers in caring for America?s frail, elderly, and disabled.
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Promoting positive mental health
To better take care of yourself, identify different forms of self-care that you would like to try or have tried and liked. Then schedule a time to engage in and enjoy these forms of self-care and continue regularly until it becomes a part of your daily life.
Here are self-care suggestions from the Mayo Clinic:
Try a new mental fitness routine
Being physically active releases those feel-good endorphins, dopamine, and promotes the expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) that can enhance your sense of well-being and reduce stress. Consider making time for your physical well-being by sticking to a healthy sleep schedule and picking nutritious meals.
Find a support network
Find a resilient role model that you feel is mentally strong. This could be a friend, family member, another Veteran or even a co-worker. Spend time with them and learn how they respond to challenging situations in their life. If you feel comfortable, ask for advice on difficulties you're facing.
Strengthen your growth skillset
Learning through adversity or failure is key to training your brain for the next challenge in your life. If you can recognize, accept and aspire to grow, you?re inadvertently helping yourself for future situations. This is called strengthening your growth skillset.
Focus on realistic optimism
Having a realistic optimism means you confront, rather than avoid, the situation you may be in. You can think of this as the converse of learned helplessness which is a state in which a person feels powerless to change a stressful situation on their own.
Create your own purposeful activity
Help to remind yourself of the meaning of your life and the lives of others through purposeful activity. By actively pursuing a purposeful activity you can inadvertently help reset your thinking. For example, participate in a community event that has a common purpose or goal rather than passively scrolling social media or a newsfeed.
The Military Action Group (MAG) is a collaborative body of individuals who advocate for improved policies and practices that benefit Veterans in the state of Minnesota, principally through legislation. The MAG operates as a ?think tank? for ideas that - because of the group?s non-partisan approach and independence from established Veteran organizations - seek to provide innovative legislative and advocacy approaches to those who shape policy for Veterans.
The next MAG meeting will be May 15, from 9 to 10 a.m.
State Office Building
Room 300N
100 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard
St Paul, MN 55155
The Beyond the Yellow Ribbon-Hibbing/Chisholm committee will be hosting their third Veteran Resource Fair at the Chisholm National Guard Armory and the Chisholm Senior Center/American Legion Building on Thursday, May 18, 2022, from 1 to 6 p.m. Regional DAV chapters will have transportation vans providing continuous round trip transportation between both buildings.
There will be a broad mix of Education, Employment, Legal/Financial, Health & Wellness, Community Support, Government Leaders, and Veterans Service Organizations to provide a variety of resources available to meet the needs of regional Veterans, National Guard servicemembers and their families. Additionally, The Beyond the Yellow Ribbon-Hibbing/Chisholm committee is partnering with local libraries to have activities available for youth from 1-5 p.m. so those with young children may attend.
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The Preston Veterans Home will be hosting its first local career fair during Preston Trout Days 2023!
The future Preston Veterans Home will offer meaningful career opportunities, competitive wages, generous benefits and a welcoming environment. Stop by and learn about open positions, meet Home leaders and enjoy refreshments.
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Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) teaches you how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges among adults.
You?ll build skills and confidence you need to reach out and provide initial support to those who are struggling. You?ll also learn how to help connect them to appropriate support.
This class will be held virtually and requires two hours of self-paced pre-coursework before attending the five-hour, instructor-led,? virtual portion of the class.
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The Wall That Heals is a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veteran Memorial in Washington, D.C. This traveling exhibit allows visitors to view the more than 58,000 names of the service members who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War.
The Wall That Heals will be on display at St. Thomas Academy, and is open to the public at no cost. The Wall will be on display Friday, May 26 starting at 2 p.m. through Monday, May 29 at 2 p.m.
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The PACT Act is a new law that expands VA health care and benefits for Veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange, and other toxic substances.
The PACT Act adds to the list of health conditions the VA assumes (or ?presumes?) are caused by exposure to these substances. This law helps provide generations of Veterans?and their survivors?with the care and benefits they?ve earned and deserve.
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The Veterans Crisis Line's new number?988 then Press 1?helps make it easier to remember and share the number to access help in times of need.
Signed into law in 2020, the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act authorized 988 as the new three-digit number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. As part of the law, all telephone service providers in the U.S. had to activate the number no later than July 16, 2022.
Veterans can use this new option by dialing 988 and pressing 1 to contact the Veterans Crisis Line. Veterans may still reach the Veterans Crisis Line with the previous phone number?1-800-273-8255 and Press 1?by text (838255), and through chat at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.
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Minnesota Veterans who served sometime between September 11, 2001, and August 30, 2021 may be eligible for a Post-9/11 Service Bonus. More than 17,000 Minnesota Veterans who served in the Global War on Terrorism have already received bonuses totaling $18.5 million in recognition of their service.
The Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs is distributing nearly $25 million in bonuses. As of late November, $18.5 million has been awarded. Eligible Veterans are paid on a first-come, first-served basis, so Veterans should apply today before the funds are gone.
To apply, visit MinnesotaVeteran.org/ServiceBonus.
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If you know of a Veteran-related community event happening in your area you would like to submit to be included in our Friday Digest, please email all event information to [email protected] for consideration.
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