Month: January 2024

Military youth are often the “hidden helpers” in their families. These children often provide care and support to an active-duty or veteran parent who is dealing with physical or mental health challenges—while learning how to manage their own mental health.

Leaders from Leidos, the Elizabeth Dole Foundation (EDF), and the National Military Family Association (NMFA) recently discussed ways to break down stigmas around mental health and help these military youth build resilience in a conversation hosted by FORUM.

Liz Porter, Leidos Health Group president and an active-duty military spouse, facilitated the conversation with Besa Pinchotti, NMFA CEO, and Steve Schwab, EDF CEO.

Understanding the problem

Research conducted over several years with military teens indicates that 53% fall into the moderate well-being category, while 37% fall into the low mental well-being category. These statistics are notably higher than the general population, highlighting the unique challenges faced by military teens, Pinchotti shared.

Schwab added that a recent study with Mathematica revealed that almost two and a half million children, as young as four or five, are providing primary and secondary care to their parents.

Porter acknowledged the need for ongoing collaboration and support to ensure military kids have access to available resources and feel empowered to prioritize their own mental health.

Actionable ways to support military kids and families

Leidos recognizes that military families face unique challenges and is committed to collaborating with organizations like EDF and NMFA to provide meaningful support to our service members, veterans, and their families.

Porter, Pinchotti, and Schwab highlighted multiple resources that are listed below for easy reference. Share these with the military families in your community and learn how you can support our “hidden helpers” as they support our service members and veterans.

EDF RESOURCES

Hidden Helpers Guides and ResourcesHidden Helpers CoalitionDole Caregiver Fellows

NMFA RESOURCES

2023 Military Teen Experience ReportField Guide to the Military TeenBloom: Empowering the Military Teen (NMFA’s teen program)Operation Purple® CampLeidos behavioral health counselors are proud to support these camps.

OTHER RESOURCES

Military OneSourceMilitary Child Education Coalition and the Purple Star School Program

Meati, a producer of animal-free meat made from mycelium, partnered with CRB on its new ‘Mega Ranch’ in Thornton, Colorado.

Efficient alternative proteins manufacturing

The resource-efficient manufacturing operation is expected to cultivate tens of millions of pounds of Meati per year, producing animal-free meat at a scale that will match and even exceed that of the larger individual animal-based ranches in the United States. Meati’s 100,000+ square-foot Ranch leverages a vertically integrated approach to grow, harvest, process and package Meati products under one roof.

CRB was responsible for design, engineering and construction services to build out the mechanical and utility plant, warehouse, office, laboratory, manufacturing and packaging areas for phase one. The team broke ground on Meati’s first industry-scale production facility in mid-2021 and the first finished product ran through the entire food processing train in Q4 2022.

Scaling for success

With the official opening of Meati’s Mega Ranch, the company is positioned to meet their goal of being the market leader in meat alternatives by 2025. The Ranch provides a new degree of scale enabling Meati to further commercialize, contributing to $1 billion in retail sales in five years.