Calm Source provides free mental health care to veterans

DANVILLE, Va. (WDBJ) – As a veteran-owned disabled business, Calm source works to help those served navigate the path to recovery from trauma, addiction, and other mental health issues.

The Danville nonprofit now offers free mental health and addiction recovery services for veterans.

This comes after a grant from the Virginia Department of Veteran Affairs.

“It could be PTSD, it could be the stress of military life, or whatever it may be,” said Leon Zimmerman III, director of operations for Calm Source. “Sometimes we just have to face it, and having a conversation with other veterans and things like that can be extremely helpful.”

Zimmerman hopes that lifting this barrier will help keep other veterans out of the dark place his father once found himself in.

“Being a veteran myself, I attempted suicide many years ago,” said Leon Zimmerman, Jr., veteran liaison for Calm Source. “So I can speak veteran talk, because sometimes it’s very difficult for veterans to talk to other people. When veterans talk to veterans, they understand each other, and that helps them quite a bit.”

“He had a lot of trouble with it when I was younger. I heard stories and didn’t see much of it, but I did experience some of it and had a few friends who had gone into the military and had mental health issues. He is a huge inspiration to get them the help they deserve,” said Zimmerman III.

These services include counseling sessions with a licensed professional, peer groups and more, which typically cost $300 to $400 per day.

“So many veterans are a little afraid to figure things out because they say, ‘I’m afraid it’s going to cost me something or I can’t afford this.’ But if they are aware of things they can get that don’t cost them anything, they are more willing to seek out these benefits,” says Zimmerman Jr.

They say 22 veterans commit suicide every day. Their hope is that this number will decrease.

“It’s hard to imagine men who have served this country taking their own lives because they don’t know where to turn for help. They need to realize that they are not invisible,” Zimmerman Jr. explains. out.

They plan to offer free services in Roanoke in the near future.

Visit Calm Source to get in touch or schedule an appointment calmbron.net/ or call (434) 835-2370 or 877-LIVCALM (548-2256).