Hope after Trauma: By My Side Documentary Nov 11 Admin Lecture Hall at Noon
Join us for the UMBC screening of By My Side - a short documentary that provides an intimate portrait of three veterans navigating their world with PTSD - an outcome faced by approximately 20% of veterans of the wars of Afghanistan and Iraq.  These veterans and their families bravely share their pain, fear and the experience that they have lost time and love that may never return.  All three found hope - in the heart of a loyal, faithful and well-trained service dog.  Through intimate interviews and revealing footage, the film demonstrates how these dogs help mitigate the trauma and scarring experienced by these veterans.

A brief Q&A and panel discussion will follow the film screening.

When:  November 11, 2024 Noon-1 p.
Where: Admin 101 (Lecture Hall)

Post Save-The-Date UPDATE: Please register as attending in this event link 

The film is captioned and a range of accessible seating options are available.  For additional inquiries about access or accommodation, email slazar@umbc.edu with "By My Side" in the subject line.

Organized by Accessibility and Disabilities Services, in partnership with Student Affairs' Veteran and Military Affiliated Services.

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June is also Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Month - take a moment to learn more about it here from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).  

June 27th is National PTSD Day - it fell on a Sunday this year. PTSD is a complex disorder caused by experiencing or witnessing trauma.  Trauma occurs with events such as a life-threatening accident, military combat, a natural disaster, sexual assault and more - there are many ways PTSD symptoms can arise, and there is help for those navigating this health condition.

The US Senate and the National Center for PTSD declared June as PTSD Awareness Month in 2010 - you can help their campaign by educating yourself and others about the health condition, and sharing information about resources with those that might need them. Teal ribbons are used to symbolize PTSD Awareness.

UMBC Resources include:

Off-campus resources are listed via Youth.gov including SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) , National Institute on Mental Health as well as military and veteran initiatives.


A Photo of three black-on-white signs reading DON'T GIVE UP, YOU ARE NOT ALONE, and YOU MATTER affiixed to a fence in front of trees accompanies this post.  Credit Dan Meyers via Unsplash.


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In our post-9/11 experience, we have more people, including more veterans, who have survived traumatic events and are navigating life with a disability.  Here are two examples:

Life with an invisible disability:  Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder:  https://youtu.be/XFBlfzVveao *

Life after an injury: https://youtu.be/igIkKmMzuS4 *

Both videos include the journey from "before" to their current lived experience, including family caregiver perspectives.  Some of the experiences are similar for people who have survived trauma resulting in disability, such as being hit by a car as a pedestrian.  Both videos include people who may come to a campus for academic, work, and event purposes. What are the strategies they use to be successful that might work at UMBC?

Find support and ask for help.

When an incoming or current undergraduate or graduate student is working with a licensed health care professional (including VA providers) accommodations for academic life are requested through Student Disability Services: https://sds.umbc.edu.  The student accommodation process is available online through the website and is described here:  https://sds.umbc.edu/accommodations/registering-with-sds/

Students seeking local support can reach out to the Counseling Center and University Health Services

Employees with disabilities may also request work-related accommodations.  The process is available here: https://accessibility.umbc.edu/employee-accommodation-request/

For others who might want to help - the person with a disability takes the lead with asking for accommodation as a matter of respect and dignity. They are students and employees here because they have the qualifications for the role.  Accommodations are handled confidentially, so it is entirely possible that a classmate, workmate or a bystander might be the nth person to offer unsolicited advice for something that is well-covered.  How new is the person to their health condition? How new are they to UMBC? Is this related to your role with the person with a disability?  How new is a potential ally to working with someone with a disability?  This linked video helps those who are very new to engaging with people with disabilities. Do what you would do with anyone on campus: be present, listen, and reflect before acting, and ask the person involved. If it's a technical question, the disability professionals on campus are only a phone call away: 410-455-2459 or 410-455-5745.


Self-Care

Self-care on campus can include a variety of activities that are part of the UMBC Wellness Initiative: https://wellness.umbc.edu/  and are available to people of all abilities.  Some activities include taking a Zumba or Yoga class, as well as using the weight room or going for a swim at the RAC (the pools have lifts).  Taking a walk around the loop or on the CERA trail. Accessing resources through the Counseling Center, such as the Mind Spa is an option. 

Connecting with people who know the journey, including successes and struggles, can also be a part of self-care.  UMBC Student Veterans have more information and resources on their website:  https://veterans.umbc.edu/

Getting busy with other people can also help, and there are several service and social action student organizations listed here for joining or volunteering:  https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/studentorgs including Retrievets some are  health-related such as Red Cross and UMBC-NAMI, and much, much more. Just like they say on the airplane, take care of your own oxygen first.


Take good care, all!


As a community that cares, accessibility concerns, may be reported here:  https://accessibility.umbc.edu/report-campus-accessibility-concern/  If it is a repair, call it in to Work Control first: 410-455-2550, as they coordinate sending out the repairpersons.

*Both videos are from Sesame Street in the Community resources and are accessible for adults.  Their work is here:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuEgW3r4ytXwd9UfQySv_Nw and includes many, many videos that often involve muppets
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