
Guam veterans group worried Trump's VA cuts will upend care
Every week, in the U.S. Territory of Guam, a group of military veterans comes together and passes around a paddle, allowing each other to speak.
The gathering serves as their therapy for both the physical and psychological wounds sustained in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
For people in Guam, military service is an economic opportunity. Of the roughly 170,000 residents who live on the island, 24,000 of them are military veterans, the group says. Guam is home to two primary U.S. military bases: Naval Base Guam and Andersen Air Force Base. Despite that, there is only one small Veterans Affairs clinic on the island, with one psychologist.
Due to the lack of services here, Roy Gamboa assembled this group. He served 10 years in the Marine Corps. He calls the group "GOT YOUR 671." 671 is the area code for Guam.
"In the first couple of years, everything was coming out of our pockets," Gamboa said. "Since then we've applied for and received a couple of grants to help keep our doors open."
But the veterans in this group are worried about the looming
budget cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs
. The agency has
terminated
585 contracts as part of an ongoing audit.
Gamboa worries his group could be next since the group is funded through a VA-issued grant.
Donovan Santos is also a combat veteran who says he has PTSD and chronic depression. He's now the person on the listening end of the group's suicide prevention hotline.
"I pretty much help those that fall through the cracks that feel like they're alone," Santos said. "I'm there with them on the ledge. I'm there with them to pull them back, to catch them."
Without the support from the group, Santos said he may not be alive. "Sometimes I wish my brothers were here and I wasn't," he said.
Gamboa says it's a fight they all hope to carry long into the future.
"I'll keep going," Gamboa said. "I mean, we were willing to die for each other in combat. I refuse to believe that it was all for nothing."
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, you can reach the
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
by calling or texting 988. You can also
chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline here
.
For more information about
mental health care resources and support
, The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@nami.org.

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4 hours ago
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CBS News
15 hours ago
- CBS News
Nine veterans with PTSD went to Mexico for a psychedelic retreat. This is how they felt nearly a year later.
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Jesse Gould: I appreciate you guys for putting the-- the faith in me, the faith in us coming here. Jesse Gould, a former Army ranger, founded the Heroic Hearts Project in 2017 after he tried another psychedelic, ayahuasca, at a retreat in Peru. Gould says psychedelics can help veterans revisit traumatic moments in ways they may be unable to with other therapies. Jesse Gould: The value of what we're finding with psychedelics is it's a very individualistic journey. You know it comes at you. It brings up the emotions. It heightens your senses. And so you're having to face it. And-- so that's why you see such big revelations because it's giving you the tools to actually get there. Anderson Cooper: Do you worry that some who see this as sort of a last hope may end up disappointed? Jesse Gould: I worry that we're at the situation where people are having to go to other countries for their last hope that indicates a major flaw in the system. 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While firefighter Ed Glover appeared caught between rapture, and deep sorrow. Five hours later, when the psilocybin began to wear off, the vets removed their eye masks and found the heat of the afternoon sun. The next day the group gathered to discuss what they'd gone through. Michael Giardina: It literally felt like an exorcism. My foot was goin' crazy, and I could kinda feel like my body was convulsing. Michael Giardina 60 Minutes Ed Glover: I felt like I was taking-- every last breath of any victim, patient, or friend that I had lost. So I really struggled to breathe yesterday Randy Weaver: I've never done anything like that before. …Randy Weaver appeared to find some of what he traveled all this way for. Randy Weaver: One thing that I remember very vividly was flying back with the guys that-- that we lost like bein' on that medevac, even though I wasn't there in the real world. I was there s-- spiritually with them. TJ Duff however, found it unsettling and at times scary. 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Dr. Shereef Elnahal: They can concern me because there's no way to monitor, certify-- make sure that they're actually safe environments. They're seeking these therapies because they do not see our current options for them to be effective enough, and they're in a state of desperation. And that, in and of itself, them seeking this type of unauthorized therapy, is just another indication on why we need to study this further, and get it to a safe and effective medical environment Last August, the FDA rejected a pharmaceutical company's application to use the psychedelic MDMA in combination with therapy as a treatment for PTSD, after an FDA advisory panel said there wasn't enough evidence it was safe or effective. The VA is now conducting 11 clinical trials using MDMA and psilocybin to treat PTSD, depression and addiction. Dr. Elnahal told us, a small phase two trial by the VA using MDMA and therapy to treat PTSD, completed last year, showed real promise. Dr. Shereef Elnahal 60 Minutes Dr. Shereef Elnahal: 45% have gone into complete remission, which is essentially a "normal emotional state." That is unheard-of with prolonged exposure, cognitive processing, and certainly SSRIs, the current standard-of-care options. Anderson Cooper: Almost half of the people who came in with PTSD and did MDMA therapy at the VA were cured? Dr. Shereef Elnahal: Yes. Anderson Cooper: So you have no doubt that this works? Dr. Shereef Elnahal: We need to do larger Phase III clinical trials. That's the best way, scientifically, to understand what the true-- adverse events are and whether we can reproduce these results in larger populations of veterans. I'm very optimistic we will be able to demonstrate that. Anderson Cooper: How long do you think it'll be before veterans can go to the VA and get this therapy Dr. Shereef Elnahal: It could be another couple of years. The incoming administration is gonna take, you know, a pretty bold stance on this Anderson Cooper: What makes you optimistic that the new administration is gonna be a believer in this? Dr. Shereef Elnahal: We've heard the nominee for HHS-- Robert F. Kennedy, Junior, talk about what he thinks the potential breakthrough therapy is. We'll see what that stance is of other health officials, but that's really promising. Nearly a year after that retreat in Mexico, we checked in with the nine veterans who attended. Eight of them told us their symptoms had improved and called their experience with psychedelics "life-changing." Ed Glover said he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Anderson Cooper: How are you doin'? Ed Glover: Very well. Ed Glover in Mexico 60 Minutes Shortly after coming home from the retreat, he decided to retire as a firefighter. Ed Glover: Prior to the retreat, I thought about takin' my life just about every day. I had a very close call. You know, the note, the gun. That is no longer the case. Anderson Cooper: You haven't had thoughts of killing yourself since then? Ed Glover: Not one. And Randy Weaver says his suicidal ideations have stopped as well. Randy Weaver: I don't have any of those thoughts since-- since goin' through-- through this journey. Anderson Cooper: That's remarkable. Randy Weaver: I would say yeah. Anderson Cooper: You had told the-- the group afterward that you had visualized people on a medevac helicopter that you had served with. Randy Weaver: Yeah. Anderson Cooper: What-- what was the impact of that? Randy Weaver: In combat things happen quickly. One minute you're talkin' to your friend and the next minute, you know, he's-- you're-- you're puttin' him in a body bag. That causes a gap in your psyche so to be able to revisit those incidences -- you know, seein' those helicopters come back with friends it brings a little-- peace to you, yeah. Since our report aired in February, former firefighter Ed Glover suffered a setback in his decades-long battle with PTSD and has since sought conventional mental health care. The new head of the Veterans Administration, Secretary Doug Collins, says he supports more research for psychedelic therapies. Produced by Katie Brennan. Associate producer, Eliza Costas. Broadcast associate, Grace Conley. Edited by Matthew Danowski.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
D-Day rally in Idaho protests proposed cuts to Veterans Affairs
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