Dr. Arnell has been the Youth Service Officer (YSO) for Giles County. Before being the YSO, she owned Arnell’s Counseling Service, Inc., as a contract provider for the State of Tennessee for 14 years. Dr. Arnell has been an adjunct faculty at Columbia State Community College since 2004, teaching in the Psychology program and some education classes. Dr. Arnell has been a member of the Giles County Fire and Rescue Squad since 2008 and is also a member of the Pulaski Lions Club. She served on the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network as the regional committee chair from 2004- 2011. Dr. Arnell also served on the State Advisory Council for the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network from 2004-2014.
Dr. Arnell became involved with 22Zero in March 2021, when the Giles County Fire and Rescue Squad assistant fire chief asked if she would be willing to go through the training. Now Dr. Arnell is the Executive Director for 22 Zero.
I was put into contact with 22 Zero in an interesting time. I do not really believe in coincidences so I found the timing very ironic ha. I had been chatting with a few veterans and the challenges of getting an appointment for mental health came up. All three were trying to get help, one requesting to be hospitalized and the VA was not able to help. The one was on Hawai’i and did not have the facility for his need and could not fly him to Oahu. The other two did not feel they needed to be hospitalized but came to the point in their lives where they were so desperate they swallowed every bit of their pride to seek help. They were both offered appointments 6-10 weeks out. Then insert a firecracker of a lady who hit me up on Facebook. She will be joining the podcast soon but first I wanted to introduce you to Dr Arnell with 22 Zero. This group responds within the same day and within days is able to pair you up with a coach. I really love their passion and goals. I hope you find something meaningful in this short series with 22 Zero.
Resources Mentioned:
https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/988
https://22zero.org/about/
https://22zero.org/get-help/resources/
https://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/
We would really appreciate a share and like on IG, FB, Youtube and Twitter. I am always looking for veterans or first responders who have battled PTSD to share how you have raised the quality of your life to shorten that journey for others. Additionally if you support, provide services for these groups, or have extensive knowledge of benefits available for these groups please reach out. I would love to have a chat and share that knowledge with the community.