ASU launches program to support veterans & first responders

ASU’s College of Health Solutions has unveiled the Military and Veterans Resilience and Health Collaborative (MVRHC), aiming to link research with tangible support for the military-connected and first responder community.

“Within the College of Health Solutions, we started the Military and Veterans Resilience collaborative, also known as ‘Mavric’,” said Professor Rachel Larson, who works at the college.

“We have multiple initiatives to serve the health of our military-connected community. One of our initiatives is to increase the eligibility of America’s youth to serve,” Larson said. The initiative was derived from findings the Pentagon conducted, showing 77% of young Americans would not qualify for military service due to health issues, such as obesity and drug use.

In response to that first initiative, the college is partnering with Luke Air Force Base on a course that will teach the basic principles of physical activity, nutrition, sleep, and resilience.

The program also wants to aid those that have seen active duty.

“Another initiative is to serve those experiencing invisible wounds, and then to ease transition by improving social determination of health. So, we’re trying to improve health across the span of a veteran,” said Larson.