Willow tree planted at Tomah VA Medical Center to honor survivors of MST

TOMAH, Wis. (WEAU) - April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and among the survivors are military service members.

The Tomah VA is using this time to recognize veterans dealing with that kind of trauma that stems from their time in the service.

“We believe you and we believe in you” is the national slogan from the Department of Veterans Affairs supporting veterans taking the hard first step of disclosure.

On the campus of the Tomah VA Medical Center, a symbol of grief, growth and resilience is now there for survivors.

“We wanted a tree in particular, a tree planting, because we wanted something on campus that could be that ongoing recognition,” said Dr. Sarah Dahl. She is the MST coordinator for the medical center.

MST is short for military sexual trauma, and the willow tree planted Wednesday afternoon is something Dr. Dahl said symbolizes many things, especially the water willow trees are always found by.

“And water has a lot of cleansing symbolism to it. And so that message of grieving and cleansing and resilience and growth... that’s what we want our survivors to feel and hear from us,” said Dr. Dahl.

Just how many veterans seek out the Tomah VA Medical Center for help navigating that trauma? Dr. Dahl and peer support leader at the medical center Chad Johnson will tell you, you won’t have to look too far from the tree.

“And so these flags are in recognition of our Tomah specific MST survivors,” said Dr. Dahl.

“So these 932 here in just the last year, we’re talking decades. We’re talking about people from WWII to current. So, we’re talking people who are in their 80′s that are now just coming forward. To people who are young as 18 and 19 that got out of the military,” said Johnson.

The numbers may seem alarming, but the rise in reported cases is something Dr. Dahl said gives hope.

“So, our veterans finally don’t feel alone. They finally can come in and get some healing and get some support. So, seeing that number growing in the years I have done this flag display is a really nice sign to me of the change in culture that we have,” said Dr. Dahl.

The tree will take some time to fill out.

“Maybe in 20 to 30 years they’ll be able to come back here and sit under the shade of this tree and realize this tree is for them,” said Johnson.

The Tomah VA Medical Center offers help for MST survivors year round.

Dr. Dahl said she is the main point of contact for veterans surviving from MST that are looking for help.

She can be reached at (608) 372-3971 ext. 66426.

She said no documentation related to the assault is required, and veterans do not have to worry about meeting eligibility criteria to receive services from the medical center either.