Hi Anthony,
Being a moderator of this forum sounds OK though I had envisaged the strength of my help being based on personal experience but I'm confident with research based writing because I've done a bucket load in my time.
I like the idea of both parties reading the general discussions and also providing a hidden forum for partners as well. I know a lot of vets tell their partners to shut up and my theory about this is that talking about feelings makes lots of men uncomfortable. I think of it as men not being encouraged to develop the language of emotions. I also think that many males find introspection an uncomfortable thing to do too. Given these two things you can see where the barriers to communication and growth occur.
Another thing, as my aim is to reach as many younger vets and partners, I am interested in your thoughts on how to target this demographic. How would you go about this?
I know that many young partners are isolated due to circumstances; things like babies, jobs, career and their caring roles all conspire to keep them away from a support network. I've raised my concerns within the PVA on a number of occasions. All I see at their meetings are the Boomer generation and a sprinkling of WWII war widows. I'm passionate about bringing the support the PVA brings to so many of us to a younger generation who can't do lunches or evenings or weekends away. This forum seems an ideal support base.
Hope I can be of some help
Cheers
LT