Author: Jill Baker, Executive Director

Date: December 4, 2022

Holiday greetings to you, friends.

This is the first holiday season for Community Action for Veterans (CAV) as an official 501C3 nonprofit organization. Just as children grow into adulthood, CAV has fallen down, stubbed its toe, gotten back up to sprint across the finish line, triumphed over painful growth spurts, and exhilarated in its well-fought achievements.

This is a time to celebrate our good tidings while also acknowledging the vast amount of work yet to be done. Work that is touched by many caring hands to honor those who have sacrificed, so that we might have the freedom to celebrate the meaning of Christmas, while warming our hands by the hearth with those we love lounging nearby.

It is also a time to spread these good tidings outward, and share our blessings with those less fortunate than us. There are many military-connected individuals who struggle during the holiday season, as the emotional toll of service can be a heavy weight to bear. Such circumstance is not always seen from the outside, looking in. The cheerful smile of a Veteran can be deceiving- their false words of assurance all that we need to feel better before moving on.

The holiday season can be hard on military-connected individuals for many reasons. One of them is called moral injury, which results from violating deeply-held moral beliefs, often resulting from military experiences- especially combat. Reconciling such feelings during a season of good will and cheer, can be a terrible reminder of the past. These painful and sometimes shameful feelings likely seep through the walls of the family home to invade the health and wellness of loved ones.

That being said, here are three things you can do this holiday season to spread good tidings of cheer for the military-connected people in your life:

A LITTLE KINDNESS GOES A LONG WAY. Reach out. Invite them over for dinner or out for coffee. Then listen. Ask questions. Put your phone down and engage. Follow-up with concerns.  

DON’T ASSUME THEY CAN FUNCTION THE WAY THEY USED TO. Military service changes people both emotionally and physically. The idea of “meeting them half way” isn’t what they need. Rather, meet them where they are at, and respect their decisions about what they can and cannot participate in. This a gift, in and of itself.

DISCOVER NEW TRADITIONS. Get creative with family gatherings and old traditions. Make new traditions inclusive of your loved one, and they will quickly become old traditions.