SAN DIEGO (KGTV) –The USS Abraham Lincoln is set to return to San Diego on Thursday. It’s coming home after a record-setting deployment in the Middle East.
“The homecoming of the Lincoln should be a joyous occasion,” Shawn VanDiver, a U.S. Navy veteran, said. “These folks have been through a deployment, and it was a really rough deployment.”
VanDiver has been deployed overseas during his time in the Navy.
ABC 10News spoke with him about the resources available to these folks when they get home.
During the deployments, reports surfaced about conditions onboard the Lincoln.
The acting navy secretary confirmed eight suicide attempts within the Lincoln’s strike group.
“The good news is there's a lot of resources that are already happening on the ship right now, so people are already starting that journey,” VanDiver said. “They're going to reintegrate with their families. That's going to be hard, but it's going to be good, and you know there will be bumps along the way."
VanDiver said our region has a lot of help for those on the Lincoln as they transition home. One of those being the Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at VVSD.
“We provide couples counseling, family counseling, counseling for individuals, group psychotherapy, as well as family counseling so we incorporate every aspect of outpatient mental health care,” Shuna Ball with The Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinic at VVSD, said.
Ball is the Regional Director for the Cohen Clinics that serves those in San Diego, Oceanside and Los Angeles.
“Speaking from my own experience with the reintegration, some things that came up for me personally were communication issues, getting back into those roles, and these are true for a lot of families, not just unique to me,” Ball said.
Ball said it’s important for servicemembers to continue to ask for and get the help they need once they come home.
“If you know that you've been on edge, if you recognize that you need help, it's crucial to initiate it as soon as possible, and all you have to do is call our clinic. We're happy to walk you through the referral process,” Ball said.
