By Michael Rutledge: Complete Post through this link…
The Together with Veterans (TWV) initiative was first introduced on Rural Insights in August of 2020. This Veterans Administration (VA)-sponsored program was conceived as a veteran-centered program to reduce rural-veteran suicide rates, and Marquette was selected as one of the initial “hubs” to be started as part of the program.
The Upper Peninsula TWV group (UPTWV), as it has been named, is now operational and functioning not just in Marquette, but throughout the Upper Peninsula.
A volunteer steering committee conducted the initial training and coordination which needed to happen before the group could take shape, and there has been some presence of the group at numerous local veteran’s events to spread awareness over the past two years.
Recruiting community partners and other interested volunteers has also been the main focus of the group until late last year when James Yates, Improving Rural Enrollment, Access, and Health in Rural Veterans Project Manager (I-REACH) agreed to become the UPTWV coordinator, and the group is now fully operational.
