By Dominik Lobkowicz
Retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Travis Mills, who lost portions of all four of his limbs to an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, answers questions during the Maine Veterans Services Organizations summit held Tuesday at The Wavus Camps in Jefferson. (Photo courtesy Joe Tatem) |
Over 30 veterans’ services organizations gathered at Wavus Camps in Jefferson Oct. 14 to collaborate and find ways to further their missions together, according to
Christine Toriello, executive director of the Travis Mills Foundation.
The event was attended both by former U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills, a veterans advocate who lost portions of all four of his limbs to an improvised
explosive device while serving in Afghanistan, and First Lady Ann LePage, though neither were able to stay for the full day, Toriello said.
LePage – who Toriello described as “unwavering” in her support of veterans – was able to stay for a few of the organizations’ presentations in the morning,
and Mills was able to share his unique perspective through a question-and-answer session.
During the morning session, the organizations shared about themselves and what they do.
According to Toriello, over the last year, the Travis Mills Foundation has come to recognize how heavily it relies on other veterans organizations in the
state to achieve its mission.
Herself a veteran’s spouse, Toriello said it was eye-opening to find out about some of the offerings in Maine.
“There were services that were literally 2 miles from my house that I didn’t know existed,” she said.
Joe Tatem, the program director for the Kieve-Wavus Veterans Camp, said the summit helped him make connections with other organizations that offer different
services – connections that will ultimately help him connect veterans with the services they need, he said.
“These are people who are all passionate about our veterans,” Toriello said.
During the afternoon the focus was on identifying the areas where the organizations could communicate and collaborate better, Toriello said.
One gap identified was in terms of improving service to the families of veterans, who can sometimes be left out of a given service, Toriello said.
Another takeaway from the afternoon was to improve communications to ensure veterans and their families can quickly find and access resources available in
the state.
According to Tatem, the discussion on communications included engaging local governments and communities to not only be aware of the veterans in their midst
but to also embrace them and have information available to support them.
Toriello said Maine is uniquely suited to that approach because of how closely knit its small communities are.
“It’s important for veterans to know they’re welcome, and local towns, local municipalities can help be a conduit,” she said.
The organizations also identified available resources that could be shared, such as volunteers that can be deployed, transportation, and unneeded medical
equipment like ramps or lifts, Toriello said.
