Written by KPBS.org

• When - Saturday, March 10, 2012, 9 a.m.
• Where - United Church of Christ of La Mesa, 5940 Kelton Avenue, La Mesa, CA,
• Age limit - All ages
• Cost - Free

At 9:00am, Saturday, March 10, 2012 the people of the United Church of Christ of La Mesa (UCCLM) will bless and send off US Army veteran and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) sufferer, Tom Skinner and his son Parry on a cross-country bike ride to raise awareness of PTSD. Accompanying them as they travel from La Mesa to White River Junction, VT, home of the National Center for PTSD, will be Scrubs, Tom’s service dog.

The 117 day journey, much of it on Old Highway 66, is commissioned by UCCLM’s Welcome Home Ministries and will provide Tom opportunities to share his presentation, “What Comes after Welcome Home” at colleges, universities, churches and veterans’ organizations throughout America. His mission is to use his experiences to help other veterans understand and recognize the signs, symptoms and effects of PTSD, and then to help them find the resources they need to cope with its effects and live happy productive lives.

Bike riders from the community are invited to join in a send-off ride (UCCLM to La Mesa’s City Hall then to Performance Bicycle on La Mesa Blvd and back to the church). The staff of Performance Bicycle will be in the church parking lot from 8:00 through 9:00 am to offer free tune-ups for cyclists accompanying the Skinner’s on the send-off ride.

Learn more about Tom, Parry, Scrubs, PTSD and the Awareness Adventure at understandingPTSD.org.

We invite you to share the grand sendoff with us.

UCCLM is located at 5940 Kelton Avenue, La Mesa 91942 619-464-1519 or office@ucclm.sdcoxmail.com