Former Navy officer starts veterans support group at East Huntingdon counseling center

Keith Medley knew where he was going when he retired from the Navy in 2010.

The native of Orange County, N.Y., moved to Scottdale to be close to his mother.

But, like many veterans, the chief petty officer and aircraft electrician with more than 23 years of experience found adjusting to civilian life wasn’t so simple.

“I kind of struggled to find out where I fit,” Medley said.

Now, in his second career as a counselor, he’s reaching out to help other former military members who are struggling. Medley is leading a veterans support group that will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesdays at Synergy Springs Soul Center, the East Huntingdon counseling center where he helps clients from all walks of life. The first meeting of the Military Support Team is set for Nov. 17.

Reservations are not required to attend. The meetings are free, but contributions will be accepted.

“I wanted to provide a place where veterans can come together and not be judged and talk to each other,” Medley said. “That can possibly lead them to talking about their problems. I don’t want them to feel like they’re in this alone.”

Medley has seen no more than four veterans as regular clients at the counseling center, but he noted former service members can be challenged by post-traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse.

He’s particularly concerned by reports of high suicide rates among veterans. A U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs report from 2019 found that about 17 veterans were dying by suicide each day, a rate 1.5 times that for non-veterans.

“It’s way too high,” said Medley.

He’s received training in suicide prevention through Living Works, an organization with offices in North Carolina, Canada and Australia that emphasizes collaboration and community networking in suicide intervention.

When he retired from the Navy, Medley initially bounced among jobs as a truck driver, a headhunter for the aviation industry and work at a local department store and home center.

“I was on my fourth job, and I realized I needed to do something greater than what I was doing,” he said. “I was passing the Penn State-Fayette campus on a daily basis, and that was the turning point.”

Medley earned a bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies at the local Penn State campus and a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling from California University of Pennsylvania. Quartermaster and past commander of the Scottdale Veterans of Foreign Wars post, he also volunteers with Brownsville-based Domestic Violence Services of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

“When you stay in the military, you become a supervisor, a people manager,” he said. “That inspired me to work with people as a civilian.”

For more information, contact Medley at the counseling center, 724-953-9733.