Calm Source Offers Free Mental Health Services to Veterans

DANVILLE, Va. (WDBJ) – As a service-disabled veteran-owned business, Calm Spring works to help those who have served navigate the path to recovery from trauma, addiction and other mental health issues.

A Danville nonprofit now offers free mental health and addiction recovery services to veterans.

This came after a grant from the Virginia Department of Veterans Affairs.

“It could be post-traumatic stress disorder, the stress of military life or something else,” said Leon Zimmerman III, director of operations at Calm Source. “Sometimes we just have to roll with it, and talking to other veterans and things like that can be extremely helpful.”

Zimmerman hopes that removing this barrier will help other veterans avoid the dark place his father once found himself in.

“As a veteran, I attempted suicide many years ago,” said Leon Zimmerman Jr., Calm Source’s veterans representative. “So, I can speak veteran language because sometimes veterans have a really hard time talking to other people. When veterans communicate with veterans, they understand each other, and that helps them a lot.”

“He struggled with it a lot when I was younger. I have heard stories and haven’t seen many of them, but I have experienced some of them and I have had friends who joined the military and had some mental health issues. He inspires them to give them the care they deserve,” Zimmerman III added.

These services include consultations with a licensed professional, peer groups, and more, typically costing between $300 and $400 per day.

“A lot of veterans are afraid to look for something because they say, ‘I’m afraid it’s going to cost me something or I can’t afford it.’ But if they know they can get something that won’t cost them anything, they’ll be more willing to seek those benefits,” Zimmerman Jr. said.

They say 22 veterans a day commit suicide. They hope that number will drop.

“It’s hard to imagine people who served this country taking their own lives because they didn’t know where to turn for help. They need to be made to realize that they are not invisible,” Zimmerman Jr. explained.

They plan to offer free services in Roanoke in the near future.

To contact Calm Source or schedule an appointment calcalsource.net/ or call (434) 835-2370 or 877-LIVCALM (548-2256).