CHESTERTON | When Sondra Julian's son Travis was deployed to Iraq in December, she believed in her heart that he would come home safe, at least in the physical sense.

But she worried about his mental well being.

The mother of three had read about post-traumatic stress disorder. She'd heard about how some vets from the Vietnam era suffered from the disorder. She'd done some research, but she wanted to do more.

"I know the Army is doing everything they can, but they are so backed up," she said, adding her research indicated that the Veterans Administration is so overwhelmed that some returning service personnel wait for up to two years for treatment.

According to the VA's National Center for PTSD, about 12 to 20 percent of returning Iraqi War vets come home with PTSD and 6 to 11 percent returning from Afghanistan also suffer from the anxiety disorder.

Julian, 43, who is working on her master's degree in social work from Indiana University Northwest and herself a veteran of the U.S. Army, decided to take some action.

She formed the Military HEROS Foundation, Inc., also known as M-HEROS, which stands for Mental Health Extras Restoring Our Soldiers.

The goal of the foundation is two-fold. Julian would like to form a national network of doctors outside of the VA who would agree to treat returning vets with PTSD. She also would like the foundation to raise enough money to pay for that treatment.

Julian also wants to educate the public about PTSD. The motto of the foundation is "PTSD is not because you're weak, it's because you're human!"

"I want to eliminate the stigma, to educate people. You will be changed by war. I don't want him to be changed in a negative way," she said of her son and others.

Julian isn't taking her goals lightly. She's enlisted help from her sisters and enlisted a couple of her professors to serve on the foundation's board.

"This has to be a multimillion-dollar foundation. I know I will have to have major fundraisers," said Julian, who is making contacts with music and television personalities and with national media to try to give national attention to the issue and the foundation.

Julian is planning two local fundraisers to help offset start-up costs of the foundation.

"My whole life has led up to this. It has become my passion. I have no choice but to do this," she said, adding the idea to help veterans "grabbed me and won't let me go."