GRAPHIC KEY:
REPRESENTS 10,000 VETERANS
400,000
ESTIMATED WITH POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER
Committing to Independence
Alex Balbir, director of Independence and Long Term Support Program, views his work with WWP as a continuation of his mission as a medical service offi cer. After he fi nished his active duty, he found fulfi llment in working with veterans like Ayres who suffer from PTSD or a traumatic brain injury. “I see this as an outlet to serve my brothers and sisters,” Balbir says. “We’ve seen a signifi cant increase in the ‘silent’ injuries of war, which is why we’ve started the Independence Program.” The Independence Program is unique in that it takes a holistic approach to a warrior’s integration back home. The program is a warrior-generated care plan that will address the goals they set for themselves. One of the fi rst of its kind, the WWP provides a commitment into the future for warriors to achieve their independence without a set time frame. WWP provided Ayres with a life skills coach, a former member of the Canadian Army Airborne Artillery. Ayres says he is an “amazing and spiritual” man who regularly meets with him to talk about his experiences and his future. “Mr. Ayres is really advanced in his community-based reintegration,” Balbir
says. “His goals have been to work on his skills outside of his home and be a part of his church and community.” By 2017, WWP estimates 1,150 severely injured warriors and their families will be served through the Independence Program. In addition to those who seek the program out, WWP has a team working to identify warriors who may be at the greatest risk of institutionalization. “Everything we do is because of the graciousness of our donors,” Balbir says.
“There are many people across the nation making this commitment into the future a reality.”
Lost but not forgotten Two minutes and forty-three seconds.
That’s how long Spc. Ryan C. King knew his fate was sealed.
According to Ayres, fellow warrior King stepped away from their combat post to complete a side mission. On May 1, 2009, the Taliban overran the compound, and Ayres says King made the decision to call in an artillery strike on his own position.
“He was a noble and selfl ess man,” Ayres says.
To honor King’s sacrifi ce, Ayres wears a killed in action bracelet every day with King’s name inscribed on it.
“We wear it to remember our fallen, those closest to us,” Ayres says. “It’s a constant reminder of the sweat and tears poured into the fi ght to keep the man to my left and the man to my right alive.”
NOVEMBER 2016 15
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES
Ayres honors a fallen soldier with this killed in action bracelet.
320,000
Source: Wounded Warrior Project numbers compiled as of August 1, 2016
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