Confide Counseling in Rockville Centre to host veterans' AA group

Expanding what he says is a social obligation to “be there” for veterans in need, Art Rosenthal, the executive director of the Confide Counseling and Consultation Center, announced plans to establish an Alcoholics Anonymous group run by, and specifically for veterans, at the center’s Hempstead Avenue facility. A similar group for those in the law enforcement community has been meeting at Confide for the past three years, and Rosenthal said it seems to have made a big difference in people’s lives.

Rosenthal was speaking at a luncheon meeting at the center on March 19, that he had arranged as part of a community education and outreach effort to get the center’s veteran-related programs up and running. He was joined by Bob Raphael, a Vietnam-era Marine Corps combat veteran who recently joined Confide to head up its veterans initiatives, and a group of about a dozen men, nearly all veterans as well. Many of them were recovering alcoholics or substance abuse counselors — or both — and all are active in organizations with which Confide, a relatively small community service, plans to network.

Among the attendees with ties to Rockville Centre were former Police Commissioner Jack McKeon, who has a long military history and is active in veteran’s affairs and with Confide; Police Commissioner Charles Gennario, a Marine Corps veteran; Gene “Mickey” Clark, a Vietnam veteran and self-described “veteran’s advocate,” who is the director of the Nassau County Veteran’s Resource Center open every Friday at the American Legion Post on Maple Ave., and Army veteran Tommy Yannelli who is back home and working for the Village of Rockville Centre after serving two tours in Iraq.

“We want to make life better for the veterans who made it possible for us to be here in the first place. Let’s stand up for the guys who were willing to stand up for us,” said Rosenthal, urging everyone in the room to find practical, specific ways to be of service to veterans. “We can’t afford to let this go,” Rosenthal said, “some people are in life and death situations.”

“This effort that Confide is putting forward,” said Raphael, “can only work it if comes from the ground up. A significant number of young guys and girls coming home will need recovery. We need to be there for them and for us older folks too,” he said, adding, “We don’t want to see them abandoned.”

Confide offers help to veterans with substance abuse and co-occurring conditions free of charge, with no paperwork and as quickly as humanly possible. It will also refer veterans to others who can help them access additional resources, if necessary. Raphael said he is looking for mentors to provide whatever help a fellow veteran might need to navigate the VA, employment or recovery systems, for example, describing the mentor as someone who becomes “a buddy, somebody who’s got your back.” Once Raphael identifies these individuals, he said he intends to develop an on-call mentorship list as well as a resource referral list. “Success will come with the support of community leaders and the business community,” Raphael added, referring to a recent job fair at Molloy College during which Confide shared a table with Primerica, a financial education company that is offering employment for veterans.

Also on Confide’s agenda is the development of a guided self-help group. And at the meeting, Rosenthal said that he has developed memoranda of understanding for referrals to Confide from veterans courts in both Queens and Nassau.

Of the Monday afternoon meeting, and plans to reconvene the group in six to eight weeks, McKeon said, “This is the business of saving lives, not the business of business. I’m honored to be part of this.”