Professional Social Work Class to host Nov. 13 post-traumatic stress disorder conference

The conference, “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Veterans' Invisible Wounds,” aims to provide awareness, knowledge and positive actions relating to the challenges of PTSD.

Admission is free, open to the public and conference attendees will receive a complimentary lunch.

The conference sessions will provide the history, signs, symptoms and strategies for handling PTSD as well as providing resources for the community.

Information booths, break-out sessions and speakers from the VA medical clinics in Cheyenne, Wyo., Rapid CIty and Hot Springs, S.D. will be included in the event.

The key-note speaker of the conference is Gary E. May, an associate professor of social work in the graduate program at the University of Southern Indiana.

May’s background includes research and teaching in the areas of social welfare policy, disability issues, veteran’s affairs and post-traumatic stress disorders. May is a Vietnam combat veteran who was injured by a landmine explosion while serving as an infantryman with the Marines in 1968.

Each year, the senior social work class hosts a one day conference on an important social issue. Past conferences from the professional social work classes have covered disabilities, civility, and cancer awareness