Peer-to-peer program helps Oklahoma post Be the One in its community
Oklahoma Legionnaire George Shafer has been in a dark place before, one so dark he contemplated taking his own life.
But he did not, and now the U.S. Army retiree is spreading the message of The American Legion’s Be the One mission in his community through a new peer-support program.
The chaplain at Lebron Post 58 in the small city of Guthrie, Shafer is heading up the post’s peer-to-peer (P2P) support program that happens the first and third Monday of each month and could expand to even more often in 2024.
Shafer draws on his own experience when trying to help others who may be headed in the same direction as he once was.
“I’m a veteran with PTSD, and I suffered my own suicidal episode 10 years ago,” Shafer said. “Thankfully, my wife came home, she found me. I spent two months in treatment. I’ve experienced the stigma and experienced the process of recovery. I’m now 10 years clean and sober, drugs and alcohol.
“I almost was one of the (daily veteran suicides). And that has been a passion of mine. Having the opportunity to pursue that passion is what really led me to my own participation (in Post 58’s program).”
Shafer said the post already was looking for a way to implement Be the One into the post’s programs. A meeting with the Legion’s top officer at the time and then the election of a new one helped cement their plan.
“Collectively as the officers of the post, we had been putting our heads together to do something for our community to offset the national suicide rate,” Shafer said. “For about three or four months we were in the planning stage trying to incorporate the national Be the One campaign. When Commander Troiola came into town we were able to run it past him and got some input from him on it. And when (current National Commander Daniel J. Seehafer) took over, and he doubled down on Be the One, that’s when we made the connection and said, ‘OK, this is going to be around for a bit. Why don’t we make this our post effort for the Be the One campaign?’”
The first P2P session started in September. A committee oversees the P2P program, which has been attended by eight to 10 veterans on average. Shafer said all veterans are welcome, whether they are members of the post or not.
The program is centered around peer-to-peer support, with Shafer serving as the moderator. “I will have a topic in mind,” Shafer said. “We start off, we introduce one another, I say a little spiel about whatever was on my heart that week. And then from that point, the group takes it from there, and it goes off into some really personal stuff.
“Initially when we started the program, it was once a month. The consensus from the group was needed more often than once a month. We’ve gone to twice a month now, with hopes after the end of the calendar year to go to once a week.
Shafer said the P2P program has created a ripple within both the participants and the post. “The feedback for the individuals that participate in the group has been far greater than I anticipated,” he said. “And it has sparked a fire in a lot of our members. We’ve gotten tons of input and tons of interest. It’s been a passion project for our officers and our members at our post.”
Post 58 Adjutant Kim Vincent praised Shafer for his part in the program, saying, “George is an asset to our post, and we are very fortunate and blessed to have his expertise and experience in this area.”