You guys will hear me say this a million times over, the answer to making the most of any base is to build the community around you. I got the chance to sit with Randy McDonald, the Executive Director of the Minot Chapter of Together with Veterans and have a conversation with him about this incredible organization. Their mission is to end veteran suicide and provide veterans, service members and their families resources aimed at positively impacting their mental health. This mission is near and dear to all our hearts. Minot is a rural location and research has shown that there has been an increase in veteran suicides in rural locations. The driving purpose of Together with Veterans is to offer resources and support to those that are in search of help.

So how do they do it? Randy spent an hour with me going over all the various things his team does for those who need help. The first resource we talked about is called Co-Pilot. Co-Pilot is a text message-based program that allows service members, veterans, and their families to talk with mental health counselors through text message for free. It is a completely anonymous service that offers 24/7 support. Minot is the first chapter to pilot this program and is proud to know that they can give members of our area this support.

Another amazing service this group offers is their peer-to-peer groups. These groups meet on the first and third Tuesday of every month and discuss veteran related topics and concerns. One major thing to know about this, they offer childcare through Kiddie Koral to allow members and families to attend. Enjoy refreshments and feel comfortable talking with others who you can relate to.

Something that Randy is very passionate about is their events and classes that are organized for people to get involved, get out of their comfort zone, and create a bond to last. They have done kayaking, ukulele lessons, horse riding lessons, bread making classes and more. Randy stated that if you have an idea of an activity, he will run with it and make it happen. For him, it’s not about having a huge group come to every event. Even if there are just two people who come, that’s two people that are going out and finding something to enjoy. The best part is that these events are nearly always family friendly and are here to support you. They’ve had spouses come with kids as an activity while their active-duty partner is deployed, they have retired veterans come, and service members attend all events. It is a community they are building to support and build up the entire military community here in Minot.

Their next event is one that I know my family and I will attend and that is their Annual Together with Veterans Community Picnic. Taking place in Oak Park on September 30 at 3pm, TWV will be putting together a free Crawfish Boil/Low Country Boil for the community to attend. They will have live music, entertainment for kids and information and resources for service members, veterans and their families. So, Minot AFB and our veterans of Minot, I hope to see you at this event and many other TWV events. Let’s take advantage of this incredible organization and work towards a healthier military community in our area.