Isolation is well documented on both sides of a discharge, and most of the responses to it are programs. A program has intake, a schedule, a facilitator, and an end date. Those help some people. They also ask a veteran to identify as somebody who needs help before anything happens, which is the exact step a lot of us will not take.

 

What worked on deployment was never a program. It was a time and a place that existed whether or not you showed up, where nobody was assigned, nobody took attendance, and nobody asked how you were doing in a tone that meant something. You turned up because the light was on.

 

This room is that. Open to anyone who serves or served, active, reserve, guard, retired or separated. Voice only, no camera, no cost, no curriculum. Nothing said in it is treatment and nobody in it is acting as a clinician. It runs on Discord, a free voice and text platform, and the door is a short introduction rather than an application.

 

If you are in crisis, do not wait for the next one. The Veterans Crisis Line is available every hour of every day: dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255.