Cleveland Army veteran Ameena Brown says the VA saved her life.
"That was my motivation really for making the film," said Brown.
Brown didn't always feel that way. She didn't trust the system.
That distrust is a theme reflected in The Mission, the title of the short film she created using her iPhone for an arts festival last fall at Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center.
While the edits are simple, she hopes her message cuts deep.
The film features fellow veterans as actors and shows one vet encouraging another, who is struggling with substance abuse, mental health, and homelessness, to go to the VA for help.
Brown said hearing that messaging coming from a fellow veteran can be important.
"I'll believe a fellow veteran before I believe a doctor," she said. "Because we have each other's best interest, they're my battle buddies."
Brown has been out of the military for 25 years and said she only recently went to the VA for help after losing her mother and grandmother and falling into a dark place.
"I didn't know how I was going to get out of it," she said. "So, I was just searching for help. Sometimes searching for it in all the wrong places. But I just decided to give the VA a chance, and that started working for me, and I started feeling better, and I said, 'OK, the VA might be up to something!'"
"This is our why," said Dr. Cynthia Yamokowski, associate chief of staff for mental health, about Brown's story.
Yamokowski said that for veterans like Brown, sharing their lived experiences with peers is critical to the VA's outreach efforts.
"I think there's been a focus on decreasing stigma, letting people know it is OK - It's OK to ask for help," said Yamokowski.
Data shows that during the last year, the VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System provided nearly 361,000 mental health appointments to more than 32,000 veterans, which is a 7% increase in the number of veterans treated.
"There's always hope," said Carman Cunningham, homeless programs coordinator.
Cunningham said her teams are out working daily in the community.
"They're going to shelters, they're going to encampment sites, developing relationships with jails and prisons," said Cunningham. "We'll stop on the side of the street if they recognize a veteran, such as in Ameena's video."
The latest local data, as of mid-February, shows that 314 homeless veterans have been identified since last October, 252 are now off the street, with the majority on their way to permanent housing, and there were 12 veterans remaining chronically homeless, which is a number cut in half from the previous year.
The impact is growing, and they expect it to continue.
"Our providers, no matter what comes at them, remain devoted and focused on our mission," said Yamokowski.
Brown's message is now her mission.
"Just showing that the VA is here, it will help you, and it works," she said.
Brown was adorned with butterflies during the interview with News 5. She said it was symbolic of her mother and grandmother.
"A butterfly came out when I decided to make the film," she said.
Butterflies are also emblematic of the transformation she says she's experiencing.
"The military, they did hurt me," she said. "It traumatized me in certain ways, but now it's saving my life."
More than 50 veterans participated in the creative arts festival last fall, and their entries ranged from paintings to poetry.
Brown's film, "The Mission," took first place in the military drama division and will now be exhibited at the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival in Indianapolis.
Resources for veterans from the VA:
National Call Center for Homeless Veterans – (877) 4AID-VETS or (877) 424-3838
National Suicide/Crisis Line – 988, Press 1 for Veteran Assistance
Visit or call a local Community and Resource and Referrals Centers (CRRC):
- Cleveland- 7000 Euclid, Suite 202, Cleveland, Ohio 44103 (216) 391-0264, option 4
- Walk-In Support with Housing/Resources- M-F 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
- Akron- 111 E Voris Street, Akron, Ohio 44311 (330) 761-7054, option 4
- Walk-In Support with Housing / Resources- M-F 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Call or walk into the local Cleveland VA Medical Center or any of the 12 neighborhood Community-Based Outpatient Clinics in Northeast Ohio.
