JACOB MATTHEW FOUNDATION

The Jacob Matthew Foundation is an all-volunteer program that works to build a community of support around former military personal who are trying to make the transition back to civilian life. We have 20 weekly small group meetings of between 15 and 30 individuals. We meet at local churches throughout town and at Fresno State University. We are just over a year old, and we already have 500 vets joining in our weekly meetings, with those numbers growing all the time. We also have monthly large group activities where we go to the local Zoo, The Aquarium, the Fresno Museum, camping, Ice skating, Dodgers Games and more.
These gatherings are meant to create a community of support for former military personal and to give each of them someone to go to when things are hard. We also want to give our members something to look forward to when they lay down to sleep, and a reason to choose to wake up again tomorrow. We have local counselors and therapists come to speak with our members at our small group meetings about suicidal ideation and how to recognize that signs of depression in friends and family. We do this so that our community members can be on the lookout for their comrades who are struggling with the transition. As soldiers, sailors, and airmen, we stood shoulder-to-shoulder to defend this country. We now stand shoulder-to-shoulder to build a community of support to help one another through the harrowing transition back to civilian life. A comradeship that is working to be of service to one another.