share a viewpoint from the military community as well as a mental health clinician.” And that lens includes that of the children of military families, as well. Having served as an elementary school teacher, Lainey has seen first-hand the impact military cultural awareness can bring into the education system. “I was teaching in a school near Hopkinsville, and being so close to Fort Campbell you would think that the families would feel supported. I remember a student’s mother approaching me and saying that her son, being in my class, changed his whole perspective on his dad’s deployment because I simply asked about how his dad was doing. For me it was nothing to ask that question, but that is because I had the competency to know how to show up for my student and support him as a child of a service member.” Committed to ensuring every school know about available resources, she has worked locally to help facilitate school connections to state resources such as the “Purple Star School Program”. This program helps schools address the unique educational and social-emotional challenges that military children face when they transition to new schools. Statistics indicate military-connected students are three times more likely to move than their civilian peers. In following this new path of service, Lainey says she has made some eye-opening discoveries including the fact that, in her opinion, access for military families is not the only barrier to mental health care. “I advocate for equipping service members and their families with educational tools to help them better understand how the brain works so they can make informed decisions regarding their care. While access to mental healthcare has exploded in the last several years, unfortunately, cultural competency, when working with military members and their families, has not.” Lainey notes that among the many barriers she’s observed, preparedness of clinicians to truly understand the military community’s challenges is crucial to receiving the highest level of care. “That is why I advocate for teaching both sides, clinicians as well as the military families, so that everyone involved can best support the needs of our community.” Crown, who holds a master’s in education in counseling and human development, is also the wife of Patrick, an Army Green Beret, who transitioned from active duty to the National Guard. He also serves as a Deputy Sheriff locally in law enforcement. Of her husband’s 15 career deployments, Lainey has endured 13. She says it was the isolation from his unit that eventually led her to become involved in the military nonprofit space. Entrenched in those roles is where she says she found her true calling. In the Fall of 2019, while volunteering on the Special Forces Shield Maidens Leadership Team, Lainey says she recognized a large gap in access to “culturally competent” mental health counseling. “Seeing spouses seeking help over and over, desperate to find a counselor who understood them and their unique challenges, eventually drove me to make a major career shift in my own life.” She explains that displaced military families can often become “invisible” in a community, having few social ties and no local support system. “It can be incredibly lonely for families, just like many here in our region, especially during a deployment. Even being able to do basic things for your family can become very challenging when you are left to do it alone while a spouse is away.” She notes that being surrounded by a “civilian” population, who are accustomed to a completely different cultural lifestyle, adds to the difficulties families face and attribute to the feeling of disconnection. These observations and a growing call to serve finally culminated in a conversation with her husband in 2020. “I do not think I will ever forget that day - it was February, right before the world shut down. My husband was preparing for one of his riskier deployments. He said he wanted to take the kids to Disney in case he did not come home.” As he was leaving for that deployment, Lainey recalls “I remember telling him, ‘I have this burning passion inside of me to do something to support our community. If I storm the halls of congress, they may only give me a minute or two of time as a spouse, but if I go get the letters behind my name, they are more likely to listen!’” And listen they have... Lainey proudly shares that she did in fact go back to school, earning her master’s in December of 2022. Along with her degree, she added the “letters behind her name” which she believes has helped to open the door for numerous opportunities, including the ability to meet Congressman Mike Rogers, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee. “I was able to travel to Washington, DC, and when we met, he discussed changes that are currently being made to the budget for military families. I feel like I can be an advocate and spokesperson for military families – an advocate who is able to 74 SEPTEMBER 2024 | INTHEVUE.COM
