Hello and welcome to The 22 Club of Columbia. We are a Missouri Non-Profit Organization, working to obtain our Federal 501(c)(3) designation. Our Mission is to reduce the Veteran Suicide Rate of 22 Veterans a day and 1 Active Duty Soldier/Sailor per day to ZERO. We may never get to ZERO, but we are going to certainly give it our all.
We feel that Veteran Suicide can be reduced through 4 Pillars from which we are building our organization. We believe that our VA hospitals, while a Federal Organization, each one is drastically different, failing to provide consistency and uniformity in the treatment of our veterans. One VA will offer this program, but no other facility will offer it, this is not a fair or consistent manner of therapy. Therefore, we are working tirelessly to establish these pillars and to document any and all studies performed to submit to Congress in order to improve and increase services available not only to Veterans but to society as a whole.
Baseball Ticket Raffle
Our 4 Pillars
E Therapy
E-Therapy is an extensive program where we are looking to partner with a banking facility to administer the DEBIT CARDS for this service.
The logistical factors alone have proven to be quite detailed and concerning.
Our goal is to have debit cards with the first 2 digits of the 16-digit account as 22. These cards may be purchased by anyone and given to anyone, however, they can only be redeemed through a Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, or Clinician that is an approved vendor.
This enables anyone suffering from a mental health concern can receive anonymous care, as the card is registered to the 22 Club, and not to an individual. This will allow this pillar to be focused more on the community as a whole and not just the Veteran Community.
These cards would have restrictions upon them which is part of the logistical hurdles we are currently addressing. If medications are prescribed, buy them at Walmart, but not be able to purchase alcohol, cigarettes, and other items, as it only has authorization for medicine and therapy.
Homeless 2 Homeowner
As a contractor, I love this pillar. On a single night, more than half a million Americans go homeless, which is about 0.2% of the US population. It is reported that 65% of those that are homeless will sleep at a shelter leaving 35% living on the street.
Approximately 40,000 of the homeless are veterans and it is estimated that 1/3 of these veterans are sleeping on the streets with their dependants.
Our solution is to pair these homeless veterans with veteran contractors to teach them a trade or skill. By working on a home, and sticking with the program for 1 year, during which time they will rent a home, and attend counseling services and other programs to aid in the improvement and quality of their life. Then, after 1 year, their work history with the program and their DD-214 is their credit application, they will be able to receive a mortgage on the home that they have been renting for the last year.
In this manner, a homeless veteran will go from sleeping on the street to sleeping in their bed, that night. They will be taught a skilled profession much like an apprenticeship program. They will also secure the financing to own a home and regain.
Holistic Healing
Here we are honestly seeking any and all therapies to help heal those suffering from mental and emotional trauma such as PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
These include:
Equestrian Therapy: also known as equine-assisted therapy (EAT) uses equine activities or an equine environment to promote physical, occupational, and emotional growth in persons with a myriad of afflictions from anxiety to depression to dementia, genetic syndromes such as Down syndrome and more. It is also beneficial for treating patients who’ve suffered traumatic brain injuries or those who’ve experienced abuse and drug and alcohol addiction.
Even though the Department of Veterans Affairs researcher has reported that Veterans who suffer from PTSD and use marijuana experience fewer symptoms and recover more quickly compared to people who don’t use cannabis. So we wish to continue cannabis usage studies in conjunction with the University of Missouri, to submit those studies to Congress. This will also include psilocybin mushrooms, and other treatments currently not offered through the VA.
Buddy Pack
In this pillar, we combat isolation by establishing a posting calendar of events.
Here anyone can post an event specifying the date, time, location, and activity so that those interesting in joining may. For example, June 18, 2022, 0800, Walmart Supercenter 415, Conley Rd, Columbia, MO 65201, leaving at 8 AM to go to Bennett Springs for a day of Trout Fishing, please call 573-489-8142 if you need assistance, POC is 22 Club of Columbia.
Activities may include a golf outing, a trip to a winery, a museum, a restaurant, a movie, archery, bowling, a concert, a tattoo shop, a hike, frisbee, dog training, a motorcycle ride, camping, cookout, bar-b-que competition, darts, gym, ax throwing, a writing seminar, fishing, travel to a military base, or a historical location, or any other multitude of activities just to avoid isolating oneself from others.
