Alabama has launched a new multi-provider program to expand mental health treatment for the state’s more than 40,000 veterans between ages 18 and 34. The initiative will provide veterans with 24/7 access to mental health services, recovery counseling, free therapy sessions, telehealth support, and crisis intervention. According to Kim Boswell of the Alabama Department of Mental Health, veterans with both substance use disorders and traumatic brain injuries face the greatest suicide risk, making improved access to services critical.
Five organizations are receiving funding through the grant program. AltaPointe’s Operation Resilience consists of crisis services tailored to veterans with follow-up and linkage to outpatient treatment, led by veteran peers and reservist therapists staffed at the Crisis Center. Centerstone’s Military and Veteran Support Network will connect veterans to a contracted network of 37 licensed behavioral health clinicians in Alabama, offering 3,000 free therapy sessions both in-person and via telehealth. Sojourn Counseling provides free trauma-informed mental health care including Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Brainspotting, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), plus Microcurrent Neurofeedback (MCN) services at no cost in office and through a mobile unit.
The Shoulder provides residential substance use treatment and recovery services to veterans, focusing on those with substance use disorders, women (especially pregnant or parenting women), rural residents, and individuals involved with the criminal justice system. UWill offers up to six telehealth therapy sessions to every Alabama veteran ages 18-34, plus immediate 24/7 telehealth crisis care with follow-ups and check-ins; while targeted to ages 18-34, no Alabama veteran will be turned away. These services are free of cost to all Alabama veterans. As Boswell emphasized, employment often serves as crucial support: “Sometimes a job is the best medicine. We know that our veterans really are folks who thrive when they have a purpose.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.waff.com/2026/01/23/alabama-expands-mental-health-treatment-veterans-with-new-multi-provider-program/