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Empower Women Vets | Warrior Tonya Oxendine | Wounded Warrior Project

According to the 2021 #AnnualWarriorSurvey, nearly 67% of women warriors WWP serves reported experiencing military sexual trauma (MST). #Veteran Tonya Oxendine shares how MST impacted her life and how she found new strength through our programs which empower female veterans.

Watch Here: https://youtu.be/CD-yMK_Vzjk��

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The 2021 survey asked WWP warriors about military sexual trauma (MST) in two separate contexts. First, MST was included in a list of possible injuries incurred during service. In this context, 10% of warriors selected MST as an injury they had experienced during service. Later in the survey, warriors were asked again about MST but in more detail surrounding specific experiences. In this context, more warriors reported experiencing MST; 16.3% indicated they had experienced sexual assault or sexual harassment involving military personnel (active duty or Reserve), DoD civilian employees, and/or contractors (of either gender) while in the military.

The VA defines military sexual trauma (MST) as sexual assault or harassment experienced during military service. Sexual harassment is the request for or pressure to engage in sexual favors (i.e., threats of negative treatment, refusal to cooperate, or WWP Talk promises of better treatment in exchange for sex), unsolicited sexual advances, or verbal comments that are sexual in nature. Sexual assault is unwanted sexual contact or activities without your consent, including when you are asleep or intoxicated and being overpowered or physically forced to have sex.28 MST, like any trauma, is associated with a higher likelihood of PTSD, depression, and substance use disorder (SUD).

After 30 years in the Army, Tonya Oxendine retired with the highest enlisted rank as command sergeant major. It was only after she retired that her life started to unravel. She faced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety, even after securing a promising new career on the civilian side.

“I was struggling with my mental health and had suicidal thoughts regularly,” Tonya said.

She eventually found female veteran resources in  WWP Talk, a free mental health phone support line provided by Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP). The program provides wounded veterans with free emotional support and tools to help them set and achieve goals.

Tonya started talking with a teammate from WWP Talk and participated in other WWP mental, physical, and financial health programs.

Through WWP Talk especially, Tonya realized how important it is to take care of herself for her own sake. “The truth was, at the time, I didn’t think that I mattered.”

WWP Talk offers individualized emotional support over the phone. Each participant is paired with a WWP Talk partner who will call them at the same day and time each week. They will typically talk for 20 minutes and work through setting goals and finding solutions that fit.

WWP Talk helps veterans like Tonya with PTSD, anxiety, and depression. It lets them know they are not alone.

“When I started talking with my WWP Talk partner, I felt alone and isolated,” Tonya recalled. “But soon I came to look forward to talking with him and took notes on what to share with him in between appointments. I knew he would want to know how I was doing.”

Tonya recalled how her WWP Talk partner changed her outlook with skills she could use “to cope with day-to-day anxiety.” “My WWP Talk partner wasn’t pushy, he just listened,” Tonya said. “Sometimes I would just be crying and even his silent listening was comforting.”

“Thanks to WWP Talk, my counselors, and my mental health providers, I am now able to express myself in ways that can help others, which in turn helps me,” Tonya said.

“WWP Talk is about resilience,” Tonya added. “It helps build resilience and find ways to be happy, better, and healthy. In helping my mental health, I’m going to be able to help other people find happiness.”

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Equine Therapy for Veterans | Warrior Chris Hoff | Wounded Warrior Project

In 2004, on only his third day in Afghanistan, Chris Hoff suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) during Humvee rollover training. But like many TBIs at the time, it went undiagnosed, and he was sent back to work. A few days later, Chris’ unit lost six soldiers and he was asked to attend the fallen comrade ceremony. Always wanting to help his team complete its mission, Chris volunteered for a variety of extra tasks during his deployments — including the difficult job of delivering the bodies of locals who had been killed to their families. After returning home, Chris’ post-traumatic stress disorder sent him into a downward spiral. He credits an email inviting him to a Wounded Warrior Project equine therapy workshop with saving him.  It was his first step on the path toward recovery.

Watch Here: https://youtu.be/mbKQ6Y3xqwc 

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variety of veteran programs and services to meet our warriors

Every veteran has a next mission. We know that the transition to civilian life is a journey. And for every veteran, family member, and caregiver, that journey looks different.

We are here for the first step, and each step that follows. As a veteran charity, we believe that every warrior should have a positive future to look forward to. Wounded Warrior Project offers a variety of veteran programs and services to meet our warriors where they are on their recovery journey. 

What’s more, thanks to the tremendous support of our donors, warriors never pay a penny for any programs or services because they already paid their dues on the battlefield. 

Contacts us for more details:https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/