Grant to School of Social Work supports Project Stand Up for Veterans

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
November 6, 2012

The School of Social Work at Texas State University has been awarded a Health Resources and Services Administration Grant to mount Project Stand Up for Veterans.

The three-year, $479,000 grant will provide competitive stipends to prepare master of social work students to meet the behavioral and mental health needs of military personnel, veterans and their families, particularly in medically underserved communities and rural areas.

Texas State currently serves more than 2,400 student veterans and their family members. With leadership and support from the School of Social Work and the Texas State Veterans Advisory Council members, the university has crafted a broad campus veterans initiative to develop better ways to serve the unique needs of student veterans, and to train faculty and staff in those service strategies. This project will be an important component of this initiative.

Members of the military, veterans and their family members often struggle with the stress of uncertainty stemming from war, multiple deployments and the risk of injury or death. Transitioning back to community and family life after deployment can be challenging especially in medically underserved areas. Project Stand Up for Veterans will produce well-trained MSW social workers who understand the challenges which military populations face, and are prepared, clinically, culturally and linguistically, to work effectively with those populations, particularly in areas in which services are few and far between.