FUNDRAISING
Veterans Band Aid Music Festival, the weekend after Labor Day, is our largest fundraiser of the year. https://www.facebook.com/veteransbandaidmusicfest
AREA OF FOCUS:
Post traumatic stress disorder and mild traumatic brain injury (also called concussion) are two of the most prevalent injuries suffered by members of the U.S. service members were diagnosed with TBI from 2000 to Q3 2023.
There is an especially high incidence in special operations forces. Initially, there may be no observable head injury, even on imaging tests and some of the symptoms may be similar to other problems that stem from combat trauma (source: https://www.research.va.gov/topics/tbi.cfm). This leads to many veterans not being diagnosed for months or even years after they separate from service. mTBI is caused by a jarring of the head possibly from a fall, explosion, repeated gunfire exposure or a blow to the head. The jarring causes damage to brain tissue, blood vessels and cells that link areas of the brain and the brain to the body. Symptoms include confusion, vertigo, sleep disturbance, memory loss, headaches, blurred vision, tinnitus, mood swings, anger, depression and anxiety. These symptoms are insidious and worsen over time if left untreated leading to breakdown in relationships, divorce, separation, loneliness, job loss and even suicide. Many veterans will not receive early diagnosis or will not seek treatment and in individuals with chronic, persistent symptoms of TBI, traditional medical interventions may be less than successful. A complicating risk factor for mTBI is a person's lifetime accumulation of TBI events, especially relevant in special operators. Receiving multiple concussions has been associated with greater risk of developing a neurodegenerative disease like chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Scientists have found an association between CTE and repetitive mTBI in professional athletes and combat Veterans after autopsy. There is some evidence from epidemiological studies (studies that use clinical diagnostic codes in health records) that shows a link between multiple mTBIs and progressive neurodegenerative conditions, like Parkinson's disease, as well as increased association between the two with increasing severity of TBI. (source: https://www.research.va.gov/topics/tbi.cfm)
In August 2012, President Obama signed an executive order to improve access to mental health services for veterans, service members and military families. It directed the DOD and HHS to conduct a comprehensive mental health study with an emphasis on PTSD, mTBI and related injuries to develop better prevention, diagnosis and treatment options. This research is ongoing and the issue is that insurance does not yet cover emerging medical therapies, such as neurotherapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which are showing clinical symptom improvement now. Veterans are seeking out these evidence-based therapies to either augment their traditional medical treatment or when they find no symptom improvement from traditional treatments. CACF wants to help offset costs and help veterans gain access to emerging therapies that are providing symptom improvement and helping to restore quality of life. We know first-hand what a difference these therapies make. TBI/PTSD are not individual diseases but family diseases. We want to use our experiences to help other veterans gain knowledge and access to these life-changing treatments. We opened our doors in December 2015 and while we are a newer organization seeking funding to help as many veterans as we can, we are doing great things and making a difference in the lives of one veteran and their family at a time with the resources we have now. GEOGRAPHICAL AREA COVERED:
We are located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It is part of what is known as Hampton Roads and is the home of the largest Navy base, Naval Station Norfolk, and 16 other surrounding bases (including east coast-based SEAL Teams) with approximately 83,000 active duty military members. There are approximately 230,784 veterans in the Hampton Roads area so given the fact that many military members do not show progressive, worsening symptoms until sometimes months or years after the original injury, the need is very great here for these treatments. Many veterans with TBI/PTSD are able to "keep going" and do their jobs and tend to their daily lives as best they can while on active duty with no time for doing any kind of treatment or therapy but for many veterans, only after they retire is when they have time to do this type of therapy and are often being encouraged by family to finally "do something." These therapies require commitment on the veterans’ part. With an estimated 40 treatments required for HBOT and 30 required for MeRT neurotherapy, it is key for treatment compliance that these treatments be close in proximity to the large veteran population that we have. EIN #: 81-0890793
