Originally published on Cigna.com
For the second year in a row, the Cigna Foundation will provide a $100,000 grant to Veterans Recovery Resources, a community-based, non-profit organization that offers professional clinical care and peer-based wellness programs to military service members, veterans, families, caregivers and survivors in southwest Alabama and surrounding areas.
Building on the successful results of the 2019 grant, the Cigna Foundation will fund additional peer support specialists, whose role is to provide care to fellow veterans on their recovery journey. As veterans who have overcome addiction, substance abuse and mental illness, peer support specialists are uniquely equipped to offer practical skills, knowledge and assistance as well as empathy and hope.
“Peer Support Specialists are the backbone of our organization,” said John Kilpatrick, founder and Executive Director of Veterans Recovery Resources and a military veteran. “Veterans need a trusted ally in their recovery process to share life, embrace difficult times, and move toward a healthier tomorrow. If combat teaches you anything, it’s that we can’t fight alone. We need others to be successful in recovery; we can’t do it alone.”
Veterans Recovery Resources offers a continuum of clinically-based medical and behavioral services, peer support programming and community integration activities to provide a veteran-centered, holistic and phase-based approach to substance abuse and mental wellness.
“We work closely with veterans across the country to improve their physical and emotional health, and that is why we are so proud to support the important work of Veterans Recovery Resources,” said Bryan Holgerson, Cigna market president for Alabama and Georgia. “This grant will provide even more peer support specialists to help veterans in our community who are struggling with mental wellbeing.”
As a Military Friendly® and Best for Vets employer, Cigna’s dedication to helping those who served can be found in the workplace, in local communities and across the nation:
- Free Veterans Support Line(855-244-6211) is available to all veterans, their families and caregivers with resources for pain management, substance use counseling and treatment, and more.
- Live guided-relaxation exclusively for veterans on Tuesdays at 5 pm ET. Veterans can call 866.205.5379 (use passcode 113 29 178 and then press #).
- Partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairsto help educate veterans about safe opioid use, and improve the delivery of care and health outcomes for veterans.
- Salute, a Cigna employee resource group, offers an open forum, support, and programming for employees who serve or have served in the military, their families, and those that support our veterans.
- Our local ambassador teams partner with military installations, colleges, and community programs to translate and match the job skills of veterans and military spouseswith open roles.
- As the official sponsor of the 2020Marine Corps Marathon and partner of the Achilles Freedom team, we’re honored to run virtually alongside active military and veterans of all abilities and celebrate their courage and commitment to keep moving forward.
