HealthWest in Muskegon was the lead agency hosting the state-wide "Resilience Conference" for veterans on Thursday.
Participants hope to pioneer a veteran resilience movement. The conference attracted more than 500 individuals to the Frauenthal Theater in downtown Muskegon.
Resilience is one of the pillars essential to overcoming ongoing life challenges faced by veterans between their personal and professional, post-military lives.
The group hopes attendees learn resilience that can be applied to their behaviors, thoughts, and actions.
Conference sessions included topics like seven things not to say to a veteran, suicide prevention and hiring a veteran.
"There are a lot of good initiatives going on right now for veterans that are not specific to any organization," said Robert Near, Veterans Navigator at HealthWest.
The conference's keynote speech was given by Dr. Vincent J. Felitti, one of the world's foremost experts on childhood trauma and the co-principal investigator of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study.
Other speakers included Medal of Honor Recipient, James McClouhan.
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