Help Save Veterans Lives!
Donativo protegido
HELP SAVL STOP VETERAN PTSD SUICIDES!
Who We Are
Sponsor A Vet Life (SAVL) is a 501(c)3 organization which provides virtual environment solutions for Active Duty, Disabled Veterans and Veteran Families in full Virtual Communities. Our proven VR technology over the past 12+ years has helped to stop PTSD suicides, provide a consistent support structure and never let a person feel they are alone again!
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SAVL's Mission has now taken on a much more personal CRITICAL objective after becoming aware one of our veteran team members is suffering from Gulf War Multisymptom Illnesses. In his case, his heart and lungs have been destroyed by exposure to various environmental issues fromt he Gulf War including and not limited to https://veteran.mobilehealth.va.gov/AHBurnPitRegistry
We will continue to update progress and post who we are requesting to join us as SAVL will donate a Virtual World Region for Active Duty, Veterans, Families and Friends of Gulf War Multisymptoms Illnesses (GWMI).
Michael Thorin who has shared his experience in this posting has given us permission to use his name to help educate his brothers and sisters in arms if they are experiencing any of the symptoms and illnesses. Medical treatment ASAP can ony help!
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Paralyzed Veterans can experience the feelings of walking, running, dancing, riding a motorcycle, taking their family to an amusement park and riding the rides.... whatever action their avatar makes is felt in immersive, interactive platforms.
SAVL also offers companies and organizations wishing to provide support the opportunity to advertise and bring their services into its’ virtual world on a global level which will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week year round.
The original virtual world company employed over 500 staff providing remote work solution services for our Nations’ Heroes and individuals with disabilities that could not work outside of their homes. Six suicide attempts were stopped by using the technology and 24/7 communications online.
SAVL has been operating for over 1 1/2 years, and even though it has been operating at a fraction of its’ capabilities due to the necessity of having to self-fund the virtual environment which will offer so much help to our Veteran’s, SAVL has already been credited with saving 3 veterans with PTSD lives.
What We Do
In the United States each day an estimated 22 Veteran’s will commit suicide. Countless others will consider suicide, and others will self-medicate with alcohol and drugs to attempt to escape their injuries, both visible and invisible, which they received in service to our great Nation.
We now add the 200,000+ veterans experiencing Gulf War Multisymptom Illnesses, many which will die. We must do what we can to help and we cannot do it alone financially.
The goal of SAVL is to use virtual reality interactive, immersion solutions to provide Veteran’s and Active Duty who would not normally reach out for help a means and an environment which they can feel more comfortable and at ease in seeking assistance.
Together, with our 501(c)3 nonprofit, we help equine and canine nonprofits rescue animals that would have been killed to train them to be therapy animals for veterans and others.
How Your Funds Will Be Used
Funds obtained through this GoFundMe account will be used to sponsor vets so they can have access to this virtual world which offers a chance to once again regain some areas of their lives which they may feel they have lost while serving this Country.
Additionally, these funds will be used to provide administrative costs including technology, maintenance, volunteer support software/hardware and operating expenses. These funds will be placed directly back into the project to provide for the longevity and ongoing support for our Nations’ heroes.
While we highly encourage everyone to use this GoFundMe account, we recognize that some may wish to give through SAVL’s direct web site. This page can be found at http://www.sponsoravet.life/#!non-profit/wd3eo .
All donations are tax deductible.
When Are The Funds Needed?
Immediately. Every day which passes, we lose more of our brothers and sisters in arms to suicide. While Sponsor A Vet Life has been operating for over 1 1/2 years now, it has mostly operated on volunteerism and the management leaders providing funds from their on pockets to bring the project to where it stands today; ready to launch in full to help reduce this staggering suicide rate among our Veteran’s with their proven solutions.
The sacrifice of the founders of SAVL, and the volunteerism of the those who have placed so much time and hard work into getting this project ready to go full scale have shown great success. However, in order to push this project out to as many veteran’s and veteran’s caregivers as possible, we need your help and support.
This will be an ongoing drive aiming to constantly provide support for the millions of veterans across the nation.
We feel very strongly, it's time for Civilians to "step-up" and help those who have protected our country and sacrificed so much. If we can't do it, who will?
What This Project Means To Me
My name is Michael Thorin. As I sit typing these narratives for SAVL, I feel the need to tell you what this project means to me. This is not what it means to the Company but what is has done for SGT Michael Thorin, Disabled Veteran and volunteer for SAVL.
When I lost my ability to function as an NCO in the military and as a firefighter as a civilian, I was devastated. In one single day, my entire life as I knew it stopped. I lost my civilian career as a firefighter, and I would never be able to step into the role of leader again in the military.
My entire adult life was spent in defense of our Country in both active and reserve military service, and as a civilian in the fire and emergency medical services. They were my life, and I thrived in both, as they were physically and intellectually demanding.
My last deployment to Iraq from June of 2005 to September of 2006 finally caught up with me in 2014. I had been dealing with several episodes in which I would black out and would suffer severe respiratory problems. Additionally, I had a chronic cough, was becoming extremely fatigued, nauseated, never slept, and my body hurt everywhere. All of this had started toward the end of my deployment. However, as any other NCO would do, I put on my big boy pants, saddled up and drove on with some 800 mg Ibuprofen and another can of Rip It.
After I returned home, I went back to work in the fire service. I had finally gained employment with one of the largest departments in the State of Alabama, and was progressing up the ranks. I worked with some of the best men in the Nation, and loved waking to go to work in the mornings, and was always at work an hour early just to have coffee and spend some extra time with offgoing and incoming shifts.
After years of hiding the fact that my health was deteriorating no matter how much time I spent in the gym, I was finally taken down. On April 1st, of 2014 I would pass out during a job task at my department, and after much medical review, it was finally determined that I had Constrictive Bronchiolitis Obliterans as well as Pulmonary Fibrosis. I would be forced to do an early medical retirement and file for disability benefits, and to this day, I wait to see if I will be placed on a lung transplant list, or if this is just as good as it gets.
When I lost my job, I felt I lost my sense of purpose and my sense of identity. After a lifetime of service to others, I suddenly found it hard to care for myself, let alone my family.
Then, nightmares crept in, and the nightmares grew worse, as the only thing which kept me from thinking about certain events was my job, and I began to quickly fall into the trap of Chronic PTSD. The doctors would later say that, due to my high intensity job at home and my inability to decompress after returning, I had never fully vetted my feelings, and was now experiencing them as if they were fresh wounds.
Essentially, I was beaten and battered. I had no mission. I could no longer do the things I wished to do and could not longer perform the things I needed to do. I was lost.
I fear that this is the way most veteran’s who contemplate suicide feel; the feeling of uselessness and the loss of a mission. It is a very sad place to be indeed.
SAVL works to give disabled veterans, whether the wounds are physical or psychological, their mission back. We seek to offer the chance to once again dance, run, walk, ride, or pretty much anything that can be dreamed up.
We also seek to offer counseling. Future plans are to provide virtual classroom opportunities to obtain education and assistance as more sponsors sign on. There has already is a Cisco Network Administration certification course which successfully is held in a virtual classroom that has led to attendees obtaining their Cisco certification.
Essentially, SAVL gave me a mission. It gave me my mission back, as well as opportunities to once again experience dancing, horseback riding, running, and even flying.
As I experienced myself, this program has the potential to give a veteran who is ready to give up hope, and hope is a powerful emotion, and can change the face of the world, one veteran at a time.
Thank You!
Any help which can be provided will be greatly appreciated. Additionally, our organization is always looking for volunteers who have something to bring to the table. Many times, veterans join and decide they want to give back to the project, and this is encouraged and appreciated, as the labor is great and the workers are few.
Thank you for your help and support. Please ask yourself this question when deciding to provide your support: Could this project save someone I know?
I asked myself this same question before volunteering, and the answer was a resounding yes.
Once again, your support will be greatly appreciated by veterans young and old, myself being one of the older vets.
Veteran Testimonials!
Sponsor a Vet Life
Colonel Mikel Burroughs testimonial about the program to-date and its future.
I wanted to share my experience with everyone about Sponsor a Vet Life (SAVL), where it originated from, where it is today, and where it will be in the future. To really understand the beginning, you need to understand our history. We've been working in the Virtual World Environment with the technology for over 13 years now. Over 10 years ago the company employed over 500 disabled veterans and individuals with disabilities that worked on projects to bring offshore outsourcing jobs back home to America. During this (5) year run, over 500 plus employees with all types of disabilities in a Virtual Call Center grew beyond their disabilities as individuals and employees. During that 5-year time period the company was able to save (6) six individuals from committing suicide, because of the unique and timely built in protocols established within the company to handle those type of situations. Based on this experience we were troubled by the many suicides being reported by our veterans and so Sponsor a Vet Life was born as a D/B/A and placed under current Non-Profit 501(c)3 Kids4Horses. Approximately 18 months ago we took the lessons learned and the same proven technology that helped build confidence, outgoing personal growth, focus driven motivation, enthusiastic personalities, and positive personal growth and built the Sponsor a Vet Life platforms being used today on a limited basis as the organization grows through self-funding and partnering with businesses and companies to achieve a 24/7 environment with protocols and peer-to-peer support to help reduce and someday eliminate veterans and active duty PTSD suicides. The mission is very clear and well defined.
"Roll out a proven solution for many of the challenges Active Duty Service Members, Disabled Veterans, and their families experience. We’ll be providing full collaborative communities, utilizing virtual reality tools to help stop the Veteran PTSD/TBI.MST and severely disabled suicides per day. All the communications occur in a 3D interactive, immersive virtual environment. We've successfully used these tools in the past to save lives and will continue to save more veterans and active duty members.”
That is the background and then I joined the organization in August of 2015 and found a new purpose after retirement to help veterans, active duty members, and their families. The road has been rough and rocky, but yet still rewarding. We made an attempt to get over 10,000 of our LinkedIn Connections to donate a simple $10 a month to sponsor veterans that were suffering from PTSD, TBI. MST, or that were severely disabled. We started off with a campaign that we thought would definitely ignite the community around this need for additional help and to our dismay we received not one single sponsor to help a veteran into the program. That did not stop us. We pushed on by connecting with service members and veterans on RallyPoint weekly and starting building a volunteer from scratch base and that was a rough road as well with some volunteers really stepping up and other just wanting to be a part of the team, but with no time available to assist in building the organization. We still have a great team and we add members and we lose members based on their schedules and other priorities. We have a few that have stuck it out from the beginning that aren’t veterans, but do it because they believe in helping them day in and day out.
We started to realize that we had to change directions by using some of the lessons learned from our previous company that distance learning in the Virtual World could pay big dividends for trainers, coaches, and businesses. We quickly changed directions and open up the doors for the very first time in November of 2015, conducting webinars on Thursday evening for veterans that wanted to volunteer or become a member of SAVL because they were suffering from the affects of PTSD, TBI, MST, or they were severely disabled and thus the organization started to take shape. The growth has been slow, painful at times, and yet rewarding when we see how well our current veterans and volunteers (mostly from the veteran community) have really shown a lot of improvement in helping with the mission and being a part of it all at the same time.
The program has continued to be self-funded on a monthly basis and so do our veterans to keep it going and growing. We’ve partnered with our first great company The Networking Doctors, which is run by one of our very own veterans SPC Lazaro (Laz) Diaz] and his wife Digna. They are doing great things with their Cisco Certification Training in the Virtual World. We have many other partners that are getting ready to move forward with us, so the future is very bright and we are getting ready to turn a big corner here soon, but in the meantime we will continue our mission to find ways of keeping the virtual regions up for our current membership and we will continue to pursue more veterans and active duty members through our webinar in the evenings.
So, if you have PTSD, TBI, MST, or your severely disabled then come check us out. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. We do have some individuals that make a donation, so I’ll provide the different levels of donations and we have a few that are actually just sponsoring veterans and active duty service members monthly and their families. I’ve provided that information as well for those that want to and will help us get through this tough period over the summer. Remember, this is a non-profit organization that not only is trying to save horses, but is helping save our veterans and active duty service members to help with rescued animals that would have been killed, that now will be trained to be therapy animals.
Thanks for taking the time to read my testimonial on Sponsor a Vet Life (SAVL). Colonel (Retired) Mikel Burroughs
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Travis Story
During the past couple of weeks I have been a whole lot of soul searching. I have had to confront my most hostile and emotional demons. I have found that telling my story to the world has helped me in ways that no medication or therapist could. It is starting to bring me some closure and peace to myself. My intentions were not to humiliate or cause any problems with other people. In the recent time the word EMOTIONAL ABUSE has been used to describe my relationship with my wife and children. By definition that may be true, but I never sought out or intentionally did that. I never meant to hurt anyone with my actions. I don’t fill that I am an abuser. Some people might think that, but that means they don’t truly understand Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation. I did emotionally abandon my family, but I also abandoned myself.
Throughout my career in the Army I have deployed 5 times. My first deployment was on December 2001 (Afghanistan). I spent 9 months there during some of the worse times in the war. I was constantly under enemy contact and had to protect myself by returning fire. I am not ashamed of what I had to do as all Soldiers understand. During that deployment as a 20 year old I was introduced to the dark side of the world. I was surrounded by death, blood, screams, and hell. I got through that deployment and returned home. Three months after returning home I was again deployed to Kuwait for the buildup for the invasion of Iraq. All in all that deployment was cake compared to my last. There were some images that I cannot get out of my head. I remember on the first day of crossing the berm we came up on a Iraqi tank burning. I remember seeing half a body hanging out burned to a crisp. Nice and Black if you would like the visual. The smell that was in the air was like nothing that I had come upon in my past. Once you smell burnt flesh there is nothing that can replace it. I have trouble going to BBQ’s because of it. Other than not sleeping for days on end, and the constant fear of being killed; I got through that fairly sane. I never had to fire a single shot during that deployment.
Upon returning from that deployment I met my wife in August of that year (2003). I was already really messed up in the head. We dated and got married the following year in August of 2004. On December 18, 2004 she blessed me with my first child (Anthony). About 7 days after he was born I left again to go to Iraq. I spent the entire year away from them; only seeing them for my two week R&R. When I was back at home with them I was not there. My mind was still at war. I returned from Iraq in December of 2005 and led a fairly normal life. I started to drink more heavily and that is when I began to isolate and be depressed. In May of 2006 I PCS’d to Fort Leavenworth; Hoping that I would get away from deployments, but of course that was not the plan. As soon as I got there I was told that I would be deploying back to Iraq in December of that year. Luckily In October I tore my ACL and had to have surgery. So that benched me from that deployment.
During that time I was made the Rear-D liaison to the FRG. I got to spend the year seeing what it was like from the other side. I was called every day at all times of the night with questions about their loved ones. I then got to see what my wife went through when I was gone. I stayed at Leavenworth for 2 years, and was blessed with my second child (Savannah) and once my knee was ok I requested to go back to a line unit. I was sent to Fort Hood, Texas to be part of the best unit in the Army (3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment). I got to Hood in August of 2008 and deployed 27 days later to Afghanistan. This would be the hardest deployment I had ever been on. During this deployment I constantly worked pushing out supplies to our outlining units on OP’s. I would wake up at 0500 in the morning to brief those days missions and would stay up until 0200 or later pushing the supplies out. The aircraft would only fly at night due to enemy contact. I did this every day. I would also get introduced to the bad ass 120mm Mortar during this deployment. If none of you have had the opportunity to ride the base plate of a 120, I recommend that you give it a go (Its fun). In May of 2009 is when I returned to hell. One of the Observation Post that we had (OP Bari Allah) was overrun by enemy forces and all but one Latvian and 12 ANA survived. I was part of the group that had to Air Assault up to OP to secure it. When I got up there all I saw was total and complete destruction. There were bodies lying all around, and rounds of ammo cooking off because of the fires. The one image that stuck with the most and gives me nightmares is I found a portion of a spine imbedded in a stone wall. I pulled it out and held it in my hand. I remember looking at it and thinking about how white the bone was. All the muscle and Flesh had been blown off. During the recovery we got in contact and were in about a two hour fire fight. I remember thinking about my wife and kids during the fight and thinking that I may never see them again. I thought about how the two US Soldiers died up there and I could be next. It really messed with me. I spent 3 days up there and was sent back to FOB Bostick to help with the resupply missions. I spent about 7 days working nonstop. I got no sleep. I couldn’t.
On the seventh day it all hit me; the thought of dying and abandoning my family. I lost it. I walked over to my Command Post and turned in my weapon and went to see the mental health provider there. I told him what was going on and he told me that I needed to sleep and that I would be ok. I was sent to the aid station and was given a shot that knocked me out for about a day and half. Once I was awake I continued with the crazy schedule and Soldiered up. I returned home in 2009, and my unit moved to Fort Knox, KY.I immediately sought out mental health treatment for PTSD. Of course I was given a lot of meds and half ass therapy. During my stay at Knox, my wife became pregnant with our son Lucas.
We lost Lucas in March of 2010 to Trisomy 18. Soon after we lost our son I was sent to NTC for our rotation for our upcoming deployment. I never sought out and treatment for the loss of my son. To this day I think of him and cry.
In December of that year I again returned to Afghanistan. This would be the hardest deployment for me. I loss two great men, leaders, and mentors during this deployment (SSG McDaniel, SSG Amper). My last part of my humanity was left on the ramp of the C-130 that I laid SSG McDaniel on for his Angel Flight.
During this time my wife blessed me with my third child (Parker). When I came home from that deployment I was never the same. I spent almost 5 years with 6-4 CAV. All of our friends started to leave Knox and go to other duty stations so I asked my wife where she wanted to go and we talked about wanting to get to Fort Benning to be close to our friend Jared and Cristin Wise. I tried everything that I could to get there, but my branch would not send me. I tried other post in Georgia, but was told no. So I emailed my Branch SGM and asked for her help. She put me on assignment to Okinawa, Japan. I knew this was a bad idea for me mentally because I knew I wouldn’t get the care that I needed, but I did not say anything. I talked myself into going and relaxing in a unit that does not deploy.
Once I got there and got tied in with the mental health there I knew I was in for some hard times. All they had there was Navy docs that had no idea how to deal with PTSD. So they set me up with a therapist in Hawaii. I would go into an office and video teleconference with my therapist. It was not the best of ideas. 90% of the time the computer would freeze and I would lose the connection. My therapist’s only solution was to send me to an inpatient facility in Texas. When I got back from the treatment I was fine for about two weeks, but slipped back into my PTSD because of the lack of follow up care they could provide.
When they finally decided to do something about it they sent me back state side to a wounded warrior battalion for long care treatment; At least that is what they told me. Once I got there it was a whole other story.
As you all are aware of what the outcome was for that, and where I am today because of it. I do not blame anyone but myself for where I am at today. I had the opportunity to get help. I tried and found that the Army was more worried about getting you deployable than it was to care for you. There answer was drugs and you all know what that did to me. I was always depressed, and isolated myself from everyone. When I did go somewhere I didn’t talk much and I stayed to myself.
The problem with civilians is they don’t understand PTSD. Yes I was always depressed and isolated myself. Yes I made bad choices and I am paying the consequences for those actions, but to be called an abuser is too much. I feel that I am owed an apology for that and hope that reading this will help educate some people.
US Soldiers don’t intend to cause harm in our home life, but due to what we have been through it happens. It is easier for us not to talk about it and suppress our emotions. Some Soldiers turn to Alcohol and Drugs. I never did that. I just isolated myself. I do not want a divorce. I do not want to be where I am at now, but here I am.
Take this story to heart and get the help now. Put yourself and your family before the Army. I know it is hard because you are trained Soldiers First, but if you live by that it is only going to destroy you.
On 28 February I attempted to kill myself by taking 150 mertazipine and 150 depakote pills. I ended up in the hospital until I was stable enough to be sent to a inpatient mental health facility. Once I was stable I was sent to the Tuscaloosa VA a-quite site for a week or so until they believed I was no longer a threat to myself.
In my current situation I am homeless. I do make money from my service connected disability but all that money goes to my soon to be exwife so that she can keep a roof over my three kids heads. This leaves me with about 40 dollars a month to live on. Not possible. So I was placed in the homeless DOM at the VA here. I spent about a week in this program before I checked myself out to move closer to home. I went to the Atlanta VA and seeked the same program that I was in at the Tuscaloosa VA. They did not have one. There solution was to put me in a shelter with other homeless vets and civilians. I told them that wouldn't work for me I have severe PTSD and cannot be put into a large room with 300 other people. So after that I decided to come back to Tuscaloosa. I went in and talked to my social worker that was helping me when I was in the program and she told me that I would have to get cleared mentally before I could get back on the wait list. I did do that and was cleared. I was put back in the list two weeks ago and told that it would probably be about two weeks. Currently I am staying in a hotel room that my mom is paying for so I wouldn't have to live in my car.
Today I decided to go up to the VA and talk to them in person about when they would think I would get back in. They told me hopefully by the 27th which is way to long. They told me if I was living in my car or on the streets then I would have priority. They moved in two other vets yesterday that were in that situation. I keep getting bumped because I am in a hotel room and make money. I tried to explain to them that I have no money because I have to pay my bills back at my house in Augusta so my kids can have a happy life. The women I talked to actually told me that I need to put myself first. Told her no my kids come first. So needless to say I am still sitting in this damn room with no clue when I will get in.
On the second of April I was introduced to a group of people that ARE helping out vets and soldiers that suffer from PTSD. It was a little strange at first to open up to complete strangers but what this past month has taught me is that you have to put it all out on the table. The more I share with people my story the better I fill. I also believe my story inspires them to help more.
On that day I was bombarded with information on this website and ideas to help out soldiers and vets. At first I was overwhelmed with information on what their plan was. It was a whole lot to understand but as I read and listened it all started to make sense. The possibilities are endless in this application. As I began to understand it made me very hopeful in that my healing will empower more soldiers and vets to get the help that they deserve and need. It began to help me understand myself and why I was placed on this earth to do. I want to share my whole experience with the world so that others will turn for the same results.
This weekend has been really rough on me as it is Easter weekend. I am separated from my kids and my friends. I am sitting around in a hotel room waiting to get into a program at the VA. I spent most of the day crying and reliving my past. The group of people that are part of this AWESOME idea have become a family to me. They listen and support me and always give words of encouragement to me to get me through my dark times. As soon as this program is up and running I will be able to go in there and talk with other vets and help each other.
I am very excited to be part this. My life is begging to change for the best. Sometimes God makes you live in the dark so that when you come out to the light you can better appreciate it and understand that he has a plan and has and never will leave you.
On the 3rd of April I had a chance to take a look at the virtual word that is going to be used for the vets, families and soldiers. As soon as I got into it I was awe struck at how it all works. My mind was going 100mph with ideas and questions.
The possibilities for this can go as far as my imagination can take it. I was so stoked and happy to see this. It put a smile on my face; which I haven't had for the last month. The idea for this program is something that has been missing for the treatment of PTSD. I was so happy to know that current Soldiers will have the chance to get help now without the fear of hurting their careers.
Soldiers will be able to stay completely anonymous and will be able to get the treatment that they need and deserve. Transitioning Soldiers will have the opportunity to get a whole lot better assistance than what is currently offered. Soldiers will have a real chance to get careers after their service. I cannot put into words how honored I am to be a part of this.
Today I decided to go up to the VA and talk to them in person about when they would think I would get back in. They told me hopefully by the 27th which is way to long. They told me if I was living in my car or on the streets then I would have priority. They moved in two other vets yesterday that were in that situation. I keep getting bumped because I am in a hotel room and make money. I tried to explain to them that I have no money because I have to pay my bills back at my house in Augusta so my kids can have a happy life. The women I talked to actually told me that I need to put myself first. Told her no my kids come first. So needless to say I am still sitting in this damn room with no clue when I will get in.
For the past week and a half I have had the pleasure and honor to work with the best thing that has ever happened for soldiers and vets; Sponsor a Vet Life.
This service is going to revolutionize how soldiers and vets get help for all kinds of needs. I have come on board to help them with getting this out to vets and current serving soldiers. They are also helping me through my current situation by contacting agencies that help out vets. With my current situation it is hard for me to focus on what needs to be done they are being my arms, legs, ears, and voice to help me get the support that I need.
As veterans, indeed as human beings, we crave connections with those who can understand our needs, our pains, and our joys. Veterans in particular can feel lost after separation from the service. Many have seen horrible things, and need help and care to deal with the pain. Others simply miss the camaraderie of like-minded men and women. There are a number of veterans organizations that try to help, but what of those veterans who are homebound due to physical limitations, live in isolated communities, or are emotionally or mentally uncomfortable with being around large numbers of people? Sponsor A Vet Life offers a “virtual world solution.” Through the virtual world, veterans can join in events with other vets, attend classes, or get counseling, all from their own homes.
SC
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There are many, too many, veterans in need. Too many falling through the cracks in the Veteran Affairs administration. Too many languishing in hospitals and hostels, and homeless on the streets. Too many surrendering their lives to drugs and despair. I set out on a mission a few years ago to do what I could to help alleviate the suffering of veterans. I joined other veterans in the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars who shared my goals. Through them I discovered Sponsor A Vet Life (SAVL) and its parent organization, Virtual World Systems (VWS), and volunteered my time and talent to help those in need. My involvement with SAVL and VWS has helped appease my desire to help. I look forward to its success and will contribute all I can to help it do so.
Jack Durish, former Captain, United States Army, Vietnam Veteran
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SAVL is one of the most unique, amazing things I, have ever joined. I feel truly blessed each day to be a part of it. I love going to a 3D work place. I love getting to work with Veteran’s like me. We are one close family, not the normal office drama. When I am in world I am happy, I listen to music streaming while I work at my virtual desk. I get to ride horses, go on amusement park rides, go dancing, and race cars, all in world with my team. It is so extremely rewarding working with veteran’s who might not be able to go to these types of places in the real world. It lets you laugh, enjoy team events, takes your mind off of real life and lets you have fun all from the comfort of your home. This is truly one of the most amazing opportunities on so many levels. It has truly changed my life and shown me a whole new world through 3D!!!!
Jania Masterson
USMC Veteran
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I first heard about SAVL via a connect request from our V.P. Colonel Mikel B, (Ret) via Rally Point..a website that connects all service members, past and present. He wanted me to attend a webinar on the
project he was working on…SAVL. During the webinar, I realized that they were using the virtual world platform for this project as I have been
involved in since 2007. After piping up with my skills and knowledge, I met with our CEO....Ilene Morris. After some discussion with them both, I was asked to join their team. After looking at all of the good things the group plans to accomplish, I happily joined the team with the knowledge that I could help make a
difference.
Using a Virtual World platform is amazing. There are
so many things a person can do...things they cannot or would not do in RL. Simple things such as making your appearance different. In real life, I'm only 5'8", but in the Virtual World, I can be 6-7' tall! I can wear designer clothes that I would never afford, or fit in, in real life. I can pilot a plane, I can drive a race car, I can fly like Superman!
Take these things and apply them to someone that is homebound, in many cases bed- or wheelchair-bound. In virtual worlds, someone who cannot move
their legs can now walk, run, dance....it's an amazing thing.
Individuals that have difficulties being around large groups of people can rub elbows with friends and strangers alike without the feeling of being boxed in. So many people that have PTSD and other conditions can meet safely amongst others with similar issues and discuss and help one another, even though they may be on opposite sides of the country, or in
entirely different countries altogether.
TD
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In Conclusion
There is much work to be done. We can't do it without your help!
Friend a Veteran
Join our public skype 24/7 communications
Share your experience with life and work
Join a webinar and witness personally the amazing benefits of immersive virtualization.
Take one restaurant meal away a month and donate that amount to help stop a suicide or get a veteran the medical education they need to prolong their life.
Don't let them down.
They did not let us down, did they?
Who We Are
Sponsor A Vet Life (SAVL) is a 501(c)3 organization which provides virtual environment solutions for Active Duty, Disabled Veterans and Veteran Families in full Virtual Communities. Our proven VR technology over the past 12+ years has helped to stop PTSD suicides, provide a consistent support structure and never let a person feel they are alone again!
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SAVL's Mission has now taken on a much more personal CRITICAL objective after becoming aware one of our veteran team members is suffering from Gulf War Multisymptom Illnesses. In his case, his heart and lungs have been destroyed by exposure to various environmental issues fromt he Gulf War including and not limited to https://veteran.mobilehealth.va.gov/AHBurnPitRegistry
We will continue to update progress and post who we are requesting to join us as SAVL will donate a Virtual World Region for Active Duty, Veterans, Families and Friends of Gulf War Multisymptoms Illnesses (GWMI).
Michael Thorin who has shared his experience in this posting has given us permission to use his name to help educate his brothers and sisters in arms if they are experiencing any of the symptoms and illnesses. Medical treatment ASAP can ony help!
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Paralyzed Veterans can experience the feelings of walking, running, dancing, riding a motorcycle, taking their family to an amusement park and riding the rides.... whatever action their avatar makes is felt in immersive, interactive platforms.
SAVL also offers companies and organizations wishing to provide support the opportunity to advertise and bring their services into its’ virtual world on a global level which will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week year round.
The original virtual world company employed over 500 staff providing remote work solution services for our Nations’ Heroes and individuals with disabilities that could not work outside of their homes. Six suicide attempts were stopped by using the technology and 24/7 communications online.
SAVL has been operating for over 1 1/2 years, and even though it has been operating at a fraction of its’ capabilities due to the necessity of having to self-fund the virtual environment which will offer so much help to our Veteran’s, SAVL has already been credited with saving 3 veterans with PTSD lives.
What We Do
In the United States each day an estimated 22 Veteran’s will commit suicide. Countless others will consider suicide, and others will self-medicate with alcohol and drugs to attempt to escape their injuries, both visible and invisible, which they received in service to our great Nation.
We now add the 200,000+ veterans experiencing Gulf War Multisymptom Illnesses, many which will die. We must do what we can to help and we cannot do it alone financially.
The goal of SAVL is to use virtual reality interactive, immersion solutions to provide Veteran’s and Active Duty who would not normally reach out for help a means and an environment which they can feel more comfortable and at ease in seeking assistance.
Together, with our 501(c)3 nonprofit, we help equine and canine nonprofits rescue animals that would have been killed to train them to be therapy animals for veterans and others.
How Your Funds Will Be Used
Funds obtained through this GoFundMe account will be used to sponsor vets so they can have access to this virtual world which offers a chance to once again regain some areas of their lives which they may feel they have lost while serving this Country.
Additionally, these funds will be used to provide administrative costs including technology, maintenance, volunteer support software/hardware and operating expenses. These funds will be placed directly back into the project to provide for the longevity and ongoing support for our Nations’ heroes.
While we highly encourage everyone to use this GoFundMe account, we recognize that some may wish to give through SAVL’s direct web site. This page can be found at http://www.sponsoravet.life/#!non-profit/wd3eo .
All donations are tax deductible.
When Are The Funds Needed?
Immediately. Every day which passes, we lose more of our brothers and sisters in arms to suicide. While Sponsor A Vet Life has been operating for over 1 1/2 years now, it has mostly operated on volunteerism and the management leaders providing funds from their on pockets to bring the project to where it stands today; ready to launch in full to help reduce this staggering suicide rate among our Veteran’s with their proven solutions.
The sacrifice of the founders of SAVL, and the volunteerism of the those who have placed so much time and hard work into getting this project ready to go full scale have shown great success. However, in order to push this project out to as many veteran’s and veteran’s caregivers as possible, we need your help and support.
This will be an ongoing drive aiming to constantly provide support for the millions of veterans across the nation.
We feel very strongly, it's time for Civilians to "step-up" and help those who have protected our country and sacrificed so much. If we can't do it, who will?
What This Project Means To Me
My name is Michael Thorin. As I sit typing these narratives for SAVL, I feel the need to tell you what this project means to me. This is not what it means to the Company but what is has done for SGT Michael Thorin, Disabled Veteran and volunteer for SAVL.
When I lost my ability to function as an NCO in the military and as a firefighter as a civilian, I was devastated. In one single day, my entire life as I knew it stopped. I lost my civilian career as a firefighter, and I would never be able to step into the role of leader again in the military.
My entire adult life was spent in defense of our Country in both active and reserve military service, and as a civilian in the fire and emergency medical services. They were my life, and I thrived in both, as they were physically and intellectually demanding.
My last deployment to Iraq from June of 2005 to September of 2006 finally caught up with me in 2014. I had been dealing with several episodes in which I would black out and would suffer severe respiratory problems. Additionally, I had a chronic cough, was becoming extremely fatigued, nauseated, never slept, and my body hurt everywhere. All of this had started toward the end of my deployment. However, as any other NCO would do, I put on my big boy pants, saddled up and drove on with some 800 mg Ibuprofen and another can of Rip It.
After I returned home, I went back to work in the fire service. I had finally gained employment with one of the largest departments in the State of Alabama, and was progressing up the ranks. I worked with some of the best men in the Nation, and loved waking to go to work in the mornings, and was always at work an hour early just to have coffee and spend some extra time with offgoing and incoming shifts.
After years of hiding the fact that my health was deteriorating no matter how much time I spent in the gym, I was finally taken down. On April 1st, of 2014 I would pass out during a job task at my department, and after much medical review, it was finally determined that I had Constrictive Bronchiolitis Obliterans as well as Pulmonary Fibrosis. I would be forced to do an early medical retirement and file for disability benefits, and to this day, I wait to see if I will be placed on a lung transplant list, or if this is just as good as it gets.
When I lost my job, I felt I lost my sense of purpose and my sense of identity. After a lifetime of service to others, I suddenly found it hard to care for myself, let alone my family.
Then, nightmares crept in, and the nightmares grew worse, as the only thing which kept me from thinking about certain events was my job, and I began to quickly fall into the trap of Chronic PTSD. The doctors would later say that, due to my high intensity job at home and my inability to decompress after returning, I had never fully vetted my feelings, and was now experiencing them as if they were fresh wounds.
Essentially, I was beaten and battered. I had no mission. I could no longer do the things I wished to do and could not longer perform the things I needed to do. I was lost.
I fear that this is the way most veteran’s who contemplate suicide feel; the feeling of uselessness and the loss of a mission. It is a very sad place to be indeed.
SAVL works to give disabled veterans, whether the wounds are physical or psychological, their mission back. We seek to offer the chance to once again dance, run, walk, ride, or pretty much anything that can be dreamed up.
We also seek to offer counseling. Future plans are to provide virtual classroom opportunities to obtain education and assistance as more sponsors sign on. There has already is a Cisco Network Administration certification course which successfully is held in a virtual classroom that has led to attendees obtaining their Cisco certification.
Essentially, SAVL gave me a mission. It gave me my mission back, as well as opportunities to once again experience dancing, horseback riding, running, and even flying.
As I experienced myself, this program has the potential to give a veteran who is ready to give up hope, and hope is a powerful emotion, and can change the face of the world, one veteran at a time.
Thank You!
Any help which can be provided will be greatly appreciated. Additionally, our organization is always looking for volunteers who have something to bring to the table. Many times, veterans join and decide they want to give back to the project, and this is encouraged and appreciated, as the labor is great and the workers are few.
Thank you for your help and support. Please ask yourself this question when deciding to provide your support: Could this project save someone I know?
I asked myself this same question before volunteering, and the answer was a resounding yes.
Once again, your support will be greatly appreciated by veterans young and old, myself being one of the older vets.
Veteran Testimonials!
Sponsor a Vet Life
Colonel Mikel Burroughs testimonial about the program to-date and its future.
I wanted to share my experience with everyone about Sponsor a Vet Life (SAVL), where it originated from, where it is today, and where it will be in the future. To really understand the beginning, you need to understand our history. We've been working in the Virtual World Environment with the technology for over 13 years now. Over 10 years ago the company employed over 500 disabled veterans and individuals with disabilities that worked on projects to bring offshore outsourcing jobs back home to America. During this (5) year run, over 500 plus employees with all types of disabilities in a Virtual Call Center grew beyond their disabilities as individuals and employees. During that 5-year time period the company was able to save (6) six individuals from committing suicide, because of the unique and timely built in protocols established within the company to handle those type of situations. Based on this experience we were troubled by the many suicides being reported by our veterans and so Sponsor a Vet Life was born as a D/B/A and placed under current Non-Profit 501(c)3 Kids4Horses. Approximately 18 months ago we took the lessons learned and the same proven technology that helped build confidence, outgoing personal growth, focus driven motivation, enthusiastic personalities, and positive personal growth and built the Sponsor a Vet Life platforms being used today on a limited basis as the organization grows through self-funding and partnering with businesses and companies to achieve a 24/7 environment with protocols and peer-to-peer support to help reduce and someday eliminate veterans and active duty PTSD suicides. The mission is very clear and well defined.
"Roll out a proven solution for many of the challenges Active Duty Service Members, Disabled Veterans, and their families experience. We’ll be providing full collaborative communities, utilizing virtual reality tools to help stop the Veteran PTSD/TBI.MST and severely disabled suicides per day. All the communications occur in a 3D interactive, immersive virtual environment. We've successfully used these tools in the past to save lives and will continue to save more veterans and active duty members.”
That is the background and then I joined the organization in August of 2015 and found a new purpose after retirement to help veterans, active duty members, and their families. The road has been rough and rocky, but yet still rewarding. We made an attempt to get over 10,000 of our LinkedIn Connections to donate a simple $10 a month to sponsor veterans that were suffering from PTSD, TBI. MST, or that were severely disabled. We started off with a campaign that we thought would definitely ignite the community around this need for additional help and to our dismay we received not one single sponsor to help a veteran into the program. That did not stop us. We pushed on by connecting with service members and veterans on RallyPoint weekly and starting building a volunteer from scratch base and that was a rough road as well with some volunteers really stepping up and other just wanting to be a part of the team, but with no time available to assist in building the organization. We still have a great team and we add members and we lose members based on their schedules and other priorities. We have a few that have stuck it out from the beginning that aren’t veterans, but do it because they believe in helping them day in and day out.
We started to realize that we had to change directions by using some of the lessons learned from our previous company that distance learning in the Virtual World could pay big dividends for trainers, coaches, and businesses. We quickly changed directions and open up the doors for the very first time in November of 2015, conducting webinars on Thursday evening for veterans that wanted to volunteer or become a member of SAVL because they were suffering from the affects of PTSD, TBI, MST, or they were severely disabled and thus the organization started to take shape. The growth has been slow, painful at times, and yet rewarding when we see how well our current veterans and volunteers (mostly from the veteran community) have really shown a lot of improvement in helping with the mission and being a part of it all at the same time.
The program has continued to be self-funded on a monthly basis and so do our veterans to keep it going and growing. We’ve partnered with our first great company The Networking Doctors, which is run by one of our very own veterans SPC Lazaro (Laz) Diaz] and his wife Digna. They are doing great things with their Cisco Certification Training in the Virtual World. We have many other partners that are getting ready to move forward with us, so the future is very bright and we are getting ready to turn a big corner here soon, but in the meantime we will continue our mission to find ways of keeping the virtual regions up for our current membership and we will continue to pursue more veterans and active duty members through our webinar in the evenings.
So, if you have PTSD, TBI, MST, or your severely disabled then come check us out. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. We do have some individuals that make a donation, so I’ll provide the different levels of donations and we have a few that are actually just sponsoring veterans and active duty service members monthly and their families. I’ve provided that information as well for those that want to and will help us get through this tough period over the summer. Remember, this is a non-profit organization that not only is trying to save horses, but is helping save our veterans and active duty service members to help with rescued animals that would have been killed, that now will be trained to be therapy animals.
Thanks for taking the time to read my testimonial on Sponsor a Vet Life (SAVL). Colonel (Retired) Mikel Burroughs
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Travis Story
During the past couple of weeks I have been a whole lot of soul searching. I have had to confront my most hostile and emotional demons. I have found that telling my story to the world has helped me in ways that no medication or therapist could. It is starting to bring me some closure and peace to myself. My intentions were not to humiliate or cause any problems with other people. In the recent time the word EMOTIONAL ABUSE has been used to describe my relationship with my wife and children. By definition that may be true, but I never sought out or intentionally did that. I never meant to hurt anyone with my actions. I don’t fill that I am an abuser. Some people might think that, but that means they don’t truly understand Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a normal reaction to an abnormal situation. I did emotionally abandon my family, but I also abandoned myself.
Throughout my career in the Army I have deployed 5 times. My first deployment was on December 2001 (Afghanistan). I spent 9 months there during some of the worse times in the war. I was constantly under enemy contact and had to protect myself by returning fire. I am not ashamed of what I had to do as all Soldiers understand. During that deployment as a 20 year old I was introduced to the dark side of the world. I was surrounded by death, blood, screams, and hell. I got through that deployment and returned home. Three months after returning home I was again deployed to Kuwait for the buildup for the invasion of Iraq. All in all that deployment was cake compared to my last. There were some images that I cannot get out of my head. I remember on the first day of crossing the berm we came up on a Iraqi tank burning. I remember seeing half a body hanging out burned to a crisp. Nice and Black if you would like the visual. The smell that was in the air was like nothing that I had come upon in my past. Once you smell burnt flesh there is nothing that can replace it. I have trouble going to BBQ’s because of it. Other than not sleeping for days on end, and the constant fear of being killed; I got through that fairly sane. I never had to fire a single shot during that deployment.
Upon returning from that deployment I met my wife in August of that year (2003). I was already really messed up in the head. We dated and got married the following year in August of 2004. On December 18, 2004 she blessed me with my first child (Anthony). About 7 days after he was born I left again to go to Iraq. I spent the entire year away from them; only seeing them for my two week R&R. When I was back at home with them I was not there. My mind was still at war. I returned from Iraq in December of 2005 and led a fairly normal life. I started to drink more heavily and that is when I began to isolate and be depressed. In May of 2006 I PCS’d to Fort Leavenworth; Hoping that I would get away from deployments, but of course that was not the plan. As soon as I got there I was told that I would be deploying back to Iraq in December of that year. Luckily In October I tore my ACL and had to have surgery. So that benched me from that deployment.
During that time I was made the Rear-D liaison to the FRG. I got to spend the year seeing what it was like from the other side. I was called every day at all times of the night with questions about their loved ones. I then got to see what my wife went through when I was gone. I stayed at Leavenworth for 2 years, and was blessed with my second child (Savannah) and once my knee was ok I requested to go back to a line unit. I was sent to Fort Hood, Texas to be part of the best unit in the Army (3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment). I got to Hood in August of 2008 and deployed 27 days later to Afghanistan. This would be the hardest deployment I had ever been on. During this deployment I constantly worked pushing out supplies to our outlining units on OP’s. I would wake up at 0500 in the morning to brief those days missions and would stay up until 0200 or later pushing the supplies out. The aircraft would only fly at night due to enemy contact. I did this every day. I would also get introduced to the bad ass 120mm Mortar during this deployment. If none of you have had the opportunity to ride the base plate of a 120, I recommend that you give it a go (Its fun). In May of 2009 is when I returned to hell. One of the Observation Post that we had (OP Bari Allah) was overrun by enemy forces and all but one Latvian and 12 ANA survived. I was part of the group that had to Air Assault up to OP to secure it. When I got up there all I saw was total and complete destruction. There were bodies lying all around, and rounds of ammo cooking off because of the fires. The one image that stuck with the most and gives me nightmares is I found a portion of a spine imbedded in a stone wall. I pulled it out and held it in my hand. I remember looking at it and thinking about how white the bone was. All the muscle and Flesh had been blown off. During the recovery we got in contact and were in about a two hour fire fight. I remember thinking about my wife and kids during the fight and thinking that I may never see them again. I thought about how the two US Soldiers died up there and I could be next. It really messed with me. I spent 3 days up there and was sent back to FOB Bostick to help with the resupply missions. I spent about 7 days working nonstop. I got no sleep. I couldn’t.
On the seventh day it all hit me; the thought of dying and abandoning my family. I lost it. I walked over to my Command Post and turned in my weapon and went to see the mental health provider there. I told him what was going on and he told me that I needed to sleep and that I would be ok. I was sent to the aid station and was given a shot that knocked me out for about a day and half. Once I was awake I continued with the crazy schedule and Soldiered up. I returned home in 2009, and my unit moved to Fort Knox, KY.I immediately sought out mental health treatment for PTSD. Of course I was given a lot of meds and half ass therapy. During my stay at Knox, my wife became pregnant with our son Lucas.
We lost Lucas in March of 2010 to Trisomy 18. Soon after we lost our son I was sent to NTC for our rotation for our upcoming deployment. I never sought out and treatment for the loss of my son. To this day I think of him and cry.
In December of that year I again returned to Afghanistan. This would be the hardest deployment for me. I loss two great men, leaders, and mentors during this deployment (SSG McDaniel, SSG Amper). My last part of my humanity was left on the ramp of the C-130 that I laid SSG McDaniel on for his Angel Flight.
During this time my wife blessed me with my third child (Parker). When I came home from that deployment I was never the same. I spent almost 5 years with 6-4 CAV. All of our friends started to leave Knox and go to other duty stations so I asked my wife where she wanted to go and we talked about wanting to get to Fort Benning to be close to our friend Jared and Cristin Wise. I tried everything that I could to get there, but my branch would not send me. I tried other post in Georgia, but was told no. So I emailed my Branch SGM and asked for her help. She put me on assignment to Okinawa, Japan. I knew this was a bad idea for me mentally because I knew I wouldn’t get the care that I needed, but I did not say anything. I talked myself into going and relaxing in a unit that does not deploy.
Once I got there and got tied in with the mental health there I knew I was in for some hard times. All they had there was Navy docs that had no idea how to deal with PTSD. So they set me up with a therapist in Hawaii. I would go into an office and video teleconference with my therapist. It was not the best of ideas. 90% of the time the computer would freeze and I would lose the connection. My therapist’s only solution was to send me to an inpatient facility in Texas. When I got back from the treatment I was fine for about two weeks, but slipped back into my PTSD because of the lack of follow up care they could provide.
When they finally decided to do something about it they sent me back state side to a wounded warrior battalion for long care treatment; At least that is what they told me. Once I got there it was a whole other story.
As you all are aware of what the outcome was for that, and where I am today because of it. I do not blame anyone but myself for where I am at today. I had the opportunity to get help. I tried and found that the Army was more worried about getting you deployable than it was to care for you. There answer was drugs and you all know what that did to me. I was always depressed, and isolated myself from everyone. When I did go somewhere I didn’t talk much and I stayed to myself.
The problem with civilians is they don’t understand PTSD. Yes I was always depressed and isolated myself. Yes I made bad choices and I am paying the consequences for those actions, but to be called an abuser is too much. I feel that I am owed an apology for that and hope that reading this will help educate some people.
US Soldiers don’t intend to cause harm in our home life, but due to what we have been through it happens. It is easier for us not to talk about it and suppress our emotions. Some Soldiers turn to Alcohol and Drugs. I never did that. I just isolated myself. I do not want a divorce. I do not want to be where I am at now, but here I am.
Take this story to heart and get the help now. Put yourself and your family before the Army. I know it is hard because you are trained Soldiers First, but if you live by that it is only going to destroy you.
On 28 February I attempted to kill myself by taking 150 mertazipine and 150 depakote pills. I ended up in the hospital until I was stable enough to be sent to a inpatient mental health facility. Once I was stable I was sent to the Tuscaloosa VA a-quite site for a week or so until they believed I was no longer a threat to myself.
In my current situation I am homeless. I do make money from my service connected disability but all that money goes to my soon to be exwife so that she can keep a roof over my three kids heads. This leaves me with about 40 dollars a month to live on. Not possible. So I was placed in the homeless DOM at the VA here. I spent about a week in this program before I checked myself out to move closer to home. I went to the Atlanta VA and seeked the same program that I was in at the Tuscaloosa VA. They did not have one. There solution was to put me in a shelter with other homeless vets and civilians. I told them that wouldn't work for me I have severe PTSD and cannot be put into a large room with 300 other people. So after that I decided to come back to Tuscaloosa. I went in and talked to my social worker that was helping me when I was in the program and she told me that I would have to get cleared mentally before I could get back on the wait list. I did do that and was cleared. I was put back in the list two weeks ago and told that it would probably be about two weeks. Currently I am staying in a hotel room that my mom is paying for so I wouldn't have to live in my car.
Today I decided to go up to the VA and talk to them in person about when they would think I would get back in. They told me hopefully by the 27th which is way to long. They told me if I was living in my car or on the streets then I would have priority. They moved in two other vets yesterday that were in that situation. I keep getting bumped because I am in a hotel room and make money. I tried to explain to them that I have no money because I have to pay my bills back at my house in Augusta so my kids can have a happy life. The women I talked to actually told me that I need to put myself first. Told her no my kids come first. So needless to say I am still sitting in this damn room with no clue when I will get in.
On the second of April I was introduced to a group of people that ARE helping out vets and soldiers that suffer from PTSD. It was a little strange at first to open up to complete strangers but what this past month has taught me is that you have to put it all out on the table. The more I share with people my story the better I fill. I also believe my story inspires them to help more.
On that day I was bombarded with information on this website and ideas to help out soldiers and vets. At first I was overwhelmed with information on what their plan was. It was a whole lot to understand but as I read and listened it all started to make sense. The possibilities are endless in this application. As I began to understand it made me very hopeful in that my healing will empower more soldiers and vets to get the help that they deserve and need. It began to help me understand myself and why I was placed on this earth to do. I want to share my whole experience with the world so that others will turn for the same results.
This weekend has been really rough on me as it is Easter weekend. I am separated from my kids and my friends. I am sitting around in a hotel room waiting to get into a program at the VA. I spent most of the day crying and reliving my past. The group of people that are part of this AWESOME idea have become a family to me. They listen and support me and always give words of encouragement to me to get me through my dark times. As soon as this program is up and running I will be able to go in there and talk with other vets and help each other.
I am very excited to be part this. My life is begging to change for the best. Sometimes God makes you live in the dark so that when you come out to the light you can better appreciate it and understand that he has a plan and has and never will leave you.
On the 3rd of April I had a chance to take a look at the virtual word that is going to be used for the vets, families and soldiers. As soon as I got into it I was awe struck at how it all works. My mind was going 100mph with ideas and questions.
The possibilities for this can go as far as my imagination can take it. I was so stoked and happy to see this. It put a smile on my face; which I haven't had for the last month. The idea for this program is something that has been missing for the treatment of PTSD. I was so happy to know that current Soldiers will have the chance to get help now without the fear of hurting their careers.
Soldiers will be able to stay completely anonymous and will be able to get the treatment that they need and deserve. Transitioning Soldiers will have the opportunity to get a whole lot better assistance than what is currently offered. Soldiers will have a real chance to get careers after their service. I cannot put into words how honored I am to be a part of this.
Today I decided to go up to the VA and talk to them in person about when they would think I would get back in. They told me hopefully by the 27th which is way to long. They told me if I was living in my car or on the streets then I would have priority. They moved in two other vets yesterday that were in that situation. I keep getting bumped because I am in a hotel room and make money. I tried to explain to them that I have no money because I have to pay my bills back at my house in Augusta so my kids can have a happy life. The women I talked to actually told me that I need to put myself first. Told her no my kids come first. So needless to say I am still sitting in this damn room with no clue when I will get in.
For the past week and a half I have had the pleasure and honor to work with the best thing that has ever happened for soldiers and vets; Sponsor a Vet Life.
This service is going to revolutionize how soldiers and vets get help for all kinds of needs. I have come on board to help them with getting this out to vets and current serving soldiers. They are also helping me through my current situation by contacting agencies that help out vets. With my current situation it is hard for me to focus on what needs to be done they are being my arms, legs, ears, and voice to help me get the support that I need.
As veterans, indeed as human beings, we crave connections with those who can understand our needs, our pains, and our joys. Veterans in particular can feel lost after separation from the service. Many have seen horrible things, and need help and care to deal with the pain. Others simply miss the camaraderie of like-minded men and women. There are a number of veterans organizations that try to help, but what of those veterans who are homebound due to physical limitations, live in isolated communities, or are emotionally or mentally uncomfortable with being around large numbers of people? Sponsor A Vet Life offers a “virtual world solution.” Through the virtual world, veterans can join in events with other vets, attend classes, or get counseling, all from their own homes.
SC
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There are many, too many, veterans in need. Too many falling through the cracks in the Veteran Affairs administration. Too many languishing in hospitals and hostels, and homeless on the streets. Too many surrendering their lives to drugs and despair. I set out on a mission a few years ago to do what I could to help alleviate the suffering of veterans. I joined other veterans in the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars who shared my goals. Through them I discovered Sponsor A Vet Life (SAVL) and its parent organization, Virtual World Systems (VWS), and volunteered my time and talent to help those in need. My involvement with SAVL and VWS has helped appease my desire to help. I look forward to its success and will contribute all I can to help it do so.
Jack Durish, former Captain, United States Army, Vietnam Veteran
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SAVL is one of the most unique, amazing things I, have ever joined. I feel truly blessed each day to be a part of it. I love going to a 3D work place. I love getting to work with Veteran’s like me. We are one close family, not the normal office drama. When I am in world I am happy, I listen to music streaming while I work at my virtual desk. I get to ride horses, go on amusement park rides, go dancing, and race cars, all in world with my team. It is so extremely rewarding working with veteran’s who might not be able to go to these types of places in the real world. It lets you laugh, enjoy team events, takes your mind off of real life and lets you have fun all from the comfort of your home. This is truly one of the most amazing opportunities on so many levels. It has truly changed my life and shown me a whole new world through 3D!!!!
Jania Masterson
USMC Veteran
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I first heard about SAVL via a connect request from our V.P. Colonel Mikel B, (Ret) via Rally Point..a website that connects all service members, past and present. He wanted me to attend a webinar on the
project he was working on…SAVL. During the webinar, I realized that they were using the virtual world platform for this project as I have been
involved in since 2007. After piping up with my skills and knowledge, I met with our CEO....Ilene Morris. After some discussion with them both, I was asked to join their team. After looking at all of the good things the group plans to accomplish, I happily joined the team with the knowledge that I could help make a
difference.
Using a Virtual World platform is amazing. There are
so many things a person can do...things they cannot or would not do in RL. Simple things such as making your appearance different. In real life, I'm only 5'8", but in the Virtual World, I can be 6-7' tall! I can wear designer clothes that I would never afford, or fit in, in real life. I can pilot a plane, I can drive a race car, I can fly like Superman!
Take these things and apply them to someone that is homebound, in many cases bed- or wheelchair-bound. In virtual worlds, someone who cannot move
their legs can now walk, run, dance....it's an amazing thing.
Individuals that have difficulties being around large groups of people can rub elbows with friends and strangers alike without the feeling of being boxed in. So many people that have PTSD and other conditions can meet safely amongst others with similar issues and discuss and help one another, even though they may be on opposite sides of the country, or in
entirely different countries altogether.
TD
***
In Conclusion
There is much work to be done. We can't do it without your help!
Friend a Veteran
Join our public skype 24/7 communications
Share your experience with life and work
Join a webinar and witness personally the amazing benefits of immersive virtualization.
Take one restaurant meal away a month and donate that amount to help stop a suicide or get a veteran the medical education they need to prolong their life.
Don't let them down.
They did not let us down, did they?
Organizador y beneficiario
Mikel Burroughs
Organizador
Wharton, NJ
Ned Sambur
Beneficiario