TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- The Helping Agency team is extending a helping hand as they pilot an initiative to make Airmen and base personnel aware of different avenues of spiritual, mental, social, family, abuse and fitness help available at Tyndall.
The Sign of Strength (S.O.S.) initiative is being spearheaded by a team consisting of the mental health office, chaplain, Airman and Family Readiness Center, the community support coordinator, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR), school liaisons, Military Family Life counselors, Equal Opportunity office, Wing Safety office, Special Victims counsel and the Tyndall First Sergeants group.
S.O.S. focuses on connecting people to helping agencies while reducing the stigma of asking for help.
“One of the things we want to do is encourage people to seek help and reach out to mental health or any other services out there,” said Major Jovanna Gaines, 325th MDOS mental health provider and counselor. “Seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness.”
Gaines developed the initiative after receiving positive feedback from previous patients who sought help.
“There are a lot of people that want to tell somebody and reiterate the message to seek help after reaching out and getting help, treatment or attending a class of their own,” Gaines said. “We are trying to get everyone at every level of the base to encourage the same message to everyone.”
“We know here in the SAPR office that it takes a lot of courage to step into our office or even call our hotline,” said Christine McGill, 325th Fighter Wing sexual assault response coordinator. “For someone who has had something incredibly bad happen to them, seeking help can be scary. It takes an enormous amount of courage and strength to take that first step. But once here, we find that people relax, calm down, and are able to share their story without fear of judgment or shame. I feel this is where the healing begins.”
To help with this campaign, Voice of Strength, a new program tailored to spreading the S.O.S. message of reaching out for help, is being implemented to the base community soon.
V.O.S. will capture audio testimonies from personal experiences on how useful it was extending a hand.
“This is a way of allowing the people to say a message and get it out,” Gaines said. “Hopefully other people hear the messages and take advantage of them. If enough people begin to hear the message ‘I reached for help,’ our goal of making everyone aware will be accomplished.
“Sometimes people delay seeking help, and in doing so, makes the situation worse. Those who do reach out and invest in getting better, do better,” Gaines said.
For more information or to pass on information to a friend or colleague call (850) 283- 7274.