Ten years ago, marriage and family therapist Jill Boultinghouse received a phone call from the worried wife of a military veteran whose normally sunny personality had given way to an angry, bitter man who frequently lashed out at those around him.
The veteran had been discharged the year before and in the intervening months had become someone his wife didn’t recognize. She’d reached out to the Veterans Administration for help, but the waiting list for counseling was months long.
In desperation, the woman did a Google search of local therapists and came across Boultinghouse, who took the veteran on as a client, helping him—and eventually his wife—deal with the demons that resulted from multiple deployments to the Middle East.
The new patient was the start of what became an avalanche of veterans reaching out to Boultinghouse’s private practice for help. Her close colleague, Dr. Evan Fewsmith, also a therapist, experienced the same phenomenon. They compared notes: Even though they were both experienced psychologists, they hadn’t realized the magnitude of the problem.
“We didn’t realize the scope of mental health issues these veterans have to face, often with no support system in place,” Boultinghouse said.
The veterans suffered from emotional and mental trauma, frequently accompanied by alcohol and drug abuse. Their marriages were often fractured by their anger and depression. Boultinghouse and Fewsmith also learned that the veterans had to deal with the Veterans Administration’s complicated paperwork to get benefits. Some were unable to translate their military job skills into the civilian marketplace, and others struggled to cope with the sudden lack of structure in their lives. A surprising number were homeless, sleeping on friends’ couches or in their cars.
The two therapists realized that in order to effectively serve the veterans, they needed to bring others on board.
In 2012, they formed Strength In Support in Lake Forest with the goal of providing veterans with free or low-cost counseling. The organization follows three important precepts: respect for the veteran, strict confidentiality, and little paperwork.
Today, Strength in Support has five clinicians and a clinical social worker, in addition to the founders, and currently serves about 30 families per week. It’s served more than 100 veterans in its first year.
Fewsmith and Boultinghouse established a board of directors and relationships with advisers to help guide the organization, including former Army officer and pilot Paul Shumate, now a senior executive with PresiNET Healthcare Solutions in Laguna Hills.
They also designed programs to address the myriad issues veterans face, including mentorships that help them reorient themselves in civilian life and educational workshops that help them apply for jobs or start their own businesses, as well as financial management classes. Drug treatment options are available for those who need them.
Businesses, Institutions Join Effort
Strength in Support’s mission resonates with the community, Boultinghouse said.
Irvine-based drug maker Allergan Inc. donated $10,000 to the organization in October. Edwards Lifesciences, also based in Irvine, gave it a $10,000 grant following a rigorous vetting process. The Cox Cares Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Cox Cable, is partnering with the organization to provide ongoing financial support. Saddleback College and Vanguard University work with the organization’s clients to develop education plans, and Mission Viejo Country Club provides the veterans with free weekly golf outings.
In October, Boultinghouse and Fewsmith met with Vicki Ueberroth Booth to introduce her to the organization in hopes of getting a donation. Booth is president of the Orange County-based Ueberroth Family Foundation, which provides financial support to charitable groups.
Booth, to their surprise, handed Fewsmith a $12,000 check from the foundation to support the organization’s mission.
“It was amazing,” Fewsmith said.
The organization itself lends a hand to those who also help veterans. For instance, it trains interns at the University of Southern California, one of the few colleges in the country with a military therapist/social work program.
New Plans
Strength in Support aims in the coming year to hold regular job fairs for veterans—the first is scheduled for Feb. 26. Fewsmith is working with several major Orange County employers to confirm their participation in the event.
The program will also add office locations in north Orange County and in Temecula.
Boultinghouse and Fewsmith say they’re proud of the progress so many of their clients have made but acknowledge there’s still a long way to go for many.
“For the veterans in our program, success isn’t necessarily a happy ending,” Boultinghouse said. “For our clients, success is about happy living. Success isn’t a finish line—it is a journey.”
