Great Plains Veterans Center continues expansion

The Great Plains Veterans Center continues to expand its services with new suicide prevention programs and a new fleet of vehicles to transport rural veterans to the resources they need, an expansion that has been accompanied by some serious growing pains as the organization's reach grows.

Great Plains Veterans Center Communication Specialist Becky Lewis said the center's reach has grown far larger over the last few years, between a 2021 rebrand and getting new vehicles with logos. The vehicles help the center service 17 counties in the state, bringing rural veterans to VA and VA-approved services and appointments.

Lewis said the center was originally called the Rocky Boy Veterans Center, a name that caused many to assume it was only for enrolled members of the tribe when it was open to all veterans.

Since rebranding to the Great Plains Veterans Center, a logo they have on their vehicles that travel across the state and beyond, they have had a massive influx of people making use of their services.

Their transportation service has been going since 2017 and has expanded their reach but that, combined with the rebrand, has attracted a lot more veterans in the past few years.

In 2020, she said, their vehicles traveled more than 30,000 miles bringing veterans to appointments and service providers, in 2023 they traveled more than 200,000 miles.

This massive amount of mileage means they've had to regularly update their fleet, and just recently they were able to get nine Subarus that they can use.

This program, funded through the Highly Rural Transportation Grant, can bring rural veterans to VA and VA-approved facilities for anything from routine appointments to dialysis and chemotherapy.

She said they can provide the service by appointment to anyone in a county with less than seven people per square mile, including Hill, Blaine, Chouteau, Liberty, Phillips, Sweet Grass, Park, Stillwater, Carbon, Glacier, Toole, Pondera, Teton, Daniels, Valley, Sheridan and Roosevelt counties.

Lewis said they've taken veterans to facilities as far away as Salt Lake City or even Seattle thanks to a group of very dedicated drivers.

"We've always been really blessed by our drivers and the staff we have," she said.

The VA doesn't pay for meals, she said, but the center makes a point of providing food during these often very-long rides.

She said they chose these Subarus for their high safety standards, comfort and reliable all-wheel drive systems to deal with the often harsh road conditions.

Veterans Support Services Case Manager John Gardipee Jr. said they also make a point to be early to pick people up and get them to their appointments with time to spare, something that means a lot to veterans.

Gardipee said punctuality is something that's drilled into people during military training and service, and veterans take that very seriously, so they try to do everything they can to make sure they are comfortable and experience as little stress as possible.

He said even if a veteran isn't covered by the VA they can use the center's own funds and resources to help them get to where they need to go without making use of this grant.

"We do what we do to help veterans, no matter the problem," he said.

Suicide prevention programs

Among the services the center itself can provide is the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant Program, which helps connect veterans to the providers they need to help them through their mental health struggles.

Gardipee said the organization has now launched in Rocky Boy, Browning and, just earlier this month, in Fort Belknap and can cover veterans in Hill, Blaine, Chouteau, Glacier, and Phillips counties, including the Fort Belknap, Rocky Boy's, and Blackfeet Indian reservations.

He said the program attempts to reach out to as many veterans in the area as they can, and connect them with services when they need it.

Suicidality can be very difficult to address for veterans, Gardipee said, as their pride often makes it difficult to seek help when they need it.

He said many evaluations require them to ask veterans directly if they are suicidal and that can make for a very uncomfortable situation where they are unlikely to say yes, even if it's true.

Gardipee said they thankfully have other ways of helping people get into the right programs by examining risk factors like post-traumatic stress, or substance abuse, which can give veterans more opportunities to get help, even if they can't directly admit they need it.

He said he had one veteran who would never admit to suicidality unless he was drunk, but obviously he couldn't ethically evaluate him in that state, but he could include the issue in a risk-factor evaluation that may help the veteran qualify for help in a program.

These are the kinds of issues they can help veterans navigate, ones that even those familiar with the VA might not know the ins and outs of.

Unfortunately, Gardipee said, they face compounding factors that make dealing with the problem more difficult, such as the general taboo against talking about suicidality in Rocky Boy and other Native American communities.

He said having a connection to a culture can be incredibly rewarding, and they do help Native American veterans connect with veteran elders for traditional healing, which can be very helpful, but the taboo about discussing suicidality is an instance in which culture can be a double-edged sword.

"We're fighting an uphill battle," he said.

He said they have been setting up sweat lodges and are trying to organize a talking circle as well.

He said younger veterans tend to be easier to get to open up, but older veterans, especially Vietnam veterans, can be extremely difficult to help.

He said the conflict was so horrific and so long ago that veterans of the war have locked away a lot of their experiences and problems very deep down, and while many deal with what they experienced in a healthy way, many others don't and need help to realize that they need help.

Gardipee said while they don't provide all their services through the VA they have tried to be a bridge between the veteran communities, especially on the reservations, and the VA which has recently acknowledged its own deficiencies in caring for veterans' mental health and has been making an effort to be better.

Lewis said she wants to make one thing clear about these services to veterans, they are not charity, they are what veterans are owed for their sacrifices.

"These veterans have earned these services," she said. " ... We are grateful to them and they are not alone."

John Gardipee Sr. a co-founder of the center, said a staggering number of veterans on the reservations are not connected to the VA at all, and they've been trying to change that and get them help when they need it.

He said living on a reservation can be a lot like living in the third world, and that combination of socio-economic forces can put veterans at a much higher risk of suicidality, so these services are vital to them, almost more than anyone else.

He said veterans have a hard time connecting with others about their troubles, even with their own families, because they haven't gone through the kinds of things they did, but connecting them with other veterans can go a long way to helping them.

Gardipee Jr. said they can also connect the families of service members to VA programs they need as long as the veteran is being covered by the VA, which is good because military service affects veterans families as well as them.

As for veterans not being covered under the VA, they often connect them with the Great Falls Veterans Center, which is a remarkable organization with one of the best outreach coordinators around, Rich Ferry.

"If we don't have the answer we will get them connected with the person that does," he said.

Lewis said this is a pilot program and they will need to renew the grant, but considering the success they've seen she is very confident they will be able to continue.

She said if a veteran out there doesn't know what they are eligible for, they can call them and they will find out.

Experiencing growing pains

While the expanding reach and services of the center has been a great thing, Lewis said, there have unfortunately been some growing pains.

Project Manager John Mitchell said his job is to improve the working conditions for the people who provide and refer veterans to services, but the reality is that they have grown beyond what their current space can provide.

Mitchell said they are looking for a new location, including a possible new building in Chouteau County just off the reservation.

He said everyone at the center is incredibly devoted and have gone above and beyond to help local veterans and they need the resources and space to do their jobs as best they can.

He said resources for capital projects can be hard to find, but his goal is to get them into a new space that can accommodate them.

Thankfully, he said, they do have diverse funding streams, not just from the VA, or the federal, state or tribal governments, so they have a great deal of flexibility to make sure as few veterans as possible slip through the cracks.

Mitchell and Gardipee Sr. said they have a number of businesses and programs they use to raise money and all are oriented toward helping veterans, whether through the veterans cemetery or through events that help them develop job skills.