'Ask Us Anything: Military Teen Edition,' Cohen Veterans Network Partners with National Military Family Association's Youth Program, Bloom: Empowering the Military Teen, for Month of the Military Child Campaign

Calling All Military Teens & Parents: Opportunity to Pose Questions and Gain Strategies to Manage Mental Health Impacts of Military Life

STAMFORD, Conn., April 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As April marks Month of the Military Child, Cohen Veterans Network (CVN), a national not-for-profit philanthropic organization that serves post-9/11 veterans, active duty service members and their families through a nationwide system of mental health clinics, announced today its collaboration with the National Military Family Association (NMFA), a nonprofit that works to strengthen military families, and Bloom, NMFA's youth program by and for military teens, for an initiative aimed at supporting military teens and their parents. The organizations are joining forces for an online campaign titled, Ask Us Anything: Military Teen Edition, in which military teens will share insights about their experiences and licensed clinicians will provide strategies to help teens and parents manage the mental health impacts of military life.

Currently, there are over 1.6 million military children. Military families relocate three times as often as civilian families. During their school career, military children move and change schools an average of six to nine times. These circumstances can impact the mental wellness of military teens. In NMFA's 2023 Military Teen Experience Survey, 40% of respondents reported having low mental well-being. While respondents who had changed schools more frequently reported lower mental well-being.

"There is a critical need for mental health support for military teens as they manage the demands of military life including frequent relocations, parental separations, and the need to constantly adjust to new social circles," says Cohen Veterans Network President and CEO Dr. Anthony Hassan. "Our 'Ask Us Anything' initiative is creating an opportunity for military teens and parents to engage in open dialogue about their unique experiences to foster greater connection, understanding and support."

Military teens and parents are encouraged to anonymously submit questions on topics relevant to their experiences including loneliness, transition, making new friends, how to ask for mental health help and more. The questions will then be answered during the Ask Us Anything campaign across the organizations' social media channels starting this week through the end of April.

"Military teens have stories to tell, and we need to listen," says NMFA's Director of Military Family Programs Becca Garrison. "This collaboration lets teens growing up in military families address the many common struggles they and their parents face, and the practical strategies they're using to overcome them and enhance their well-being."

Since its inception in April 2016, CVN has provided high-quality, accessible mental health services to over 65,000 individuals, including adolescents and children. In fact, approximately 18% of clients served over the last year have been children. CVN additionally treats the entire military family with non-veterans making up 43% of clients. Care is available to military families through CVN's national network of 24 Steven A. Cohen Military Family Clinics.

Visit cohenveteransnetwork.org/militarykids to learn more about Ask Us Anything: Military Teen Edition, follow along on social media, connect with resources for military teens and parents, and find a list of local Cohen Clinic events happening throughout the month of April to celebrate military kids.

Cohen Clinics b-roll and map are available here.

ABOUT COHEN VETERANS NETWORK

Cohen Veterans Network (CVN) is a 501(c)(3) national not-for-profit philanthropic organization for post-9/11 veterans, active duty service members and their families. CVN focuses on improving mental health outcomes, operating a network of outpatient mental health clinics in high-need communities, in which trained clinicians deliver holistic evidence-based care to treat mental health conditions. It was established in 2016 by philanthropist Steven A. Cohen with a commitment of $275 million to build the network. Learn more about CVN here.

SOURCE Cohen Veterans Network