Veterans and their families face challenges every day, but they don’t have to face them alone. During recent workshops held by the American Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces (SAF) and American Legion Post 100 in Royse City, Texas, veterans and others learned how to use effective communication to cope with stress.

“When you're working with another human being, these are some basic things that you need to keep in mind: How to communicate effectively and how to be able to show them that stress is all around us,” instructor Carmen Stein said. “We're all prone to stress. It is how you deal with it.”

Stein is a clinical mental health psychotherapist with a PhD in clinical mental health. She’s also an Army veteran, a Navy wife, an Air Force mother and a Red Cross volunteer. The Lubbock, Texas, resident has been an SAF instructor teaching reconnection, communication and stress management courses for the past three years.

“I love the fact that veterans are helping other veterans, and I'm all about veterans helping other veterans,” Stein said. “[If] I see something happening, let me reach out to them. Let me give them some advice. Let me help them out. Let me refer them someplace else. It's a tight community service.”

The workshops with members of American Legion Post 100 were educational and purposeful. They align with the Legion’s commitment to teaching its members to be good servant leaders in their communities.

“Our program in the American Legion is ‘Be the One,’” former American Legion Department of Texas State Commander Gene Toohey said. “Be the one to ask a veteran how they're doing. Be the one to listen when a veteran needs help. And be the one to reach out when a veteran is struggling. So, the seminar on enhancing, teaching and training our communication methods with the Red Cross is helping us do that mission. We're very grateful for that.”

In September, American Legion Post 100 will commemorate Suicide Prevention Month and World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10. Members will raise community awareness through events and messaging.

“We want to promote that suicide awareness affects all of us,” Post 100 member and retired 22-year Air Force veteran Hayde Spencer said. “It's not just the veterans and the first responders, but children as young as 10 and elderly as old as 71. If you look at the Texas statistics, it crosses all genres.”

SAF workshops and community partnerships like these are just some of the ways the Red Cross connects with the military community every day. The Red Cross provides thousands of services and programs annually for military members, veterans and their families.

“It is very important to spread awareness about mental health and our suicide awareness month coming up in September,” Red Cross North Texas Region SAF Director Katrina Gonzalez said. “We want to build resilient communities, and these workshops and these services will help us build resilient communities.

“[American Legion Post 100] are influencers of the community, and they will be out sharing how they've taken this course and then recruiting others to become more resilient with the hope to help connect veterans with other veterans who may be struggling.”