Veterans Program for UMPI students

A veteran’s support group for students is starting at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. The school enrolls many people who have served but they’ve never had a group before .. that is until now.

“I was in the Marine Corp, I served from 01 to 06.”

Christina Rafford did three Middle East deployments, then spent 10 years working for the military. Last year she and her family moved to Maine and that’s when she decided to enroll at UMPI.

“I know how hard it was for me to find all this stuff I needed when I came here, I still didn’t have a job, I still didn’t have a way to know who was available and what’s there to help me so I thought the club would be a great idea to help others navigate through the system.”

The University has a veteran’s benefits liaison who helps those who’ve served… but there was no student led group on campus.

“The military is a tight knit family and once you leave the military especially something drastic, so I left the military and then I spent 10 years with the military afterwards, so I was still comfortable, I didn’t have to sort through anything, I always had that same companionship because it’s a different lifestyle.”

A lifestyle that these other veterans and family members understand.

“The military is a very unique lifestyle, you go through a lot unique experiences, and a lot of the times civilians don't necessarily understand what you’ve done and how it changes you as a person.”

Kaitlyn Belanger joined the army reserves in 2012. She says the experience is one that stays with you for a life time and having a group of those who understand is a huge help.

“My unit personally has experienced a loss of a solider, from suicide and you know that happens a lot more than we like to talk about, so it’s really important to have that group of people that you can turn to.”

“I think when a lot of people think about deployment they think well okay he’s going to be gone for six months out of the year or like two years of my life and like that’s it, he’ll come back and everything will be fine but it’s not as simple as that.”

Ashley Johnston isn’t a veteran herself, but her step father was.

“We still struggle with some changes that happened with my step dad after his deployment and he’s gone now, so after his death we’re still dealing with some things that happened.”

The group is in its early stages, but so far around a half a dozen students have come together.

“I think the main benefit is information because everybody has a different story, everybody has a different experience and that information we can give to each other is just so helpful.”

The goal of the group is to connect student veterans and family members with resources in the community and help them successfully integrate back into society – all while supporting one another.