Understanding our heroes: HCC hosts conference to serve needs of veteran community
Aug 2, 2016
Heroic, brave, angry, and scared. Those are some words that come to mind when we think about our nation’s veterans and their transition from the front lines back into civilian life.
Houston Community College (HCC) helps thousands of veterans and their dependents reestablish themselves into society through education and partnering with veteran servicing organizations that offer support to these military men and women.
The HCC Office of Veterans Affairs/Counseling & Disability Support Services and the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) recently presented the UC4 (University Counseling Center Core Competency) Conference at the HCC administration building.
“Their role is to provide critical training, education, services, research, and data on how, in the higher education environment, to reintegrate veterans successfully and provide them with support services to keep them through degree completion,” said Dr. Cephas Archie, who facilitated the day-long training session.
HCC is one of six higher education institutions from around the country chosen to host the event, which brought out representatives from local universities including Texas Southern University (TSU), Sam Houston State University (SHSU), Rice University, Prairie View A&M University, and University of Houston-Downtown (UH-D) along with various veterans’ organizations from across the Greater Houston Area. HCC staff and faculty, who work closely with veteran students on a daily basis, also attended the conference.
“It’s an institutional effort to start off with the first responders. This is the population that interacts and engages with veterans and should be aware of the cultural and psychological developmental needs,” said Archie.
The conference focused on:
• Culture and experience of service members and veterans on campus
• The deployment cycle and impact on students
• Reintegration on campus
• Outreach strategies and group exercise
• Overview of treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on campus
Leon Grissett, Sr., director of the HCC Office of Veterans Affairs & Student Support Services, is a retired Army veteran who believes this is a unique way to give everyone a view into a veteran’s world.
“Many of my colleagues do not know what these young men and women experienced during deployment,” said Grissett. “They are learning how to reach out to our veterans, embrace them, and help them develop better skills as students.”
The HCC Office of Veterans Affairs & Student Support Services plans to have more training sessions in the future. To learn about the HCC veteran community and programs offered on the HCC campuses, visit hccs.edu/veterans.