U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut met today in West Haven with Veterans Affairs workers to learn more about Veteran Peer Specialists.
Veteran Peer Specialists are trained to talk with their fellow veterans who need help getting services at the VA, especially mental health treatment.
Dan Marcai served in Afghanistan and now works as veteran peer specialist for a supportive housing program in Newington. He told Blumenthal today that he’s helped fellow veterans with PTSD who sometimes hesitate to trust counselors at the VA.
“When I started working with a Vietnam veteran he really, he wanted nothing to do with us at all,” Marcai said. “Once he connected with me as somebody who has been in combat, even though we’re totally different eras, he really opened up to us and we would up being able to go into his home and really working with him. And every time he had a problem, he turned to us.”
Marcai says he is able to help bridge gaps that can come up between a veteran and a mental health clinician who might not have seen combat.
VA Connecticut says it has 30 veteran peer specialists—that’s the most in the country. Since 2012, every state has been required to offer peer specialist services, but most states only have one working specialist.
Blumenthal called Connecticut a model for the nation. He’s currently drafting legislation that would expand the number of Veteran Peer Specialists by offering funding to train more of them around the country, and to provide more training for existing ones.