2025 VISN 6 Peer Specialist of the Year: Salisbury VA’s Edna Curry Recognized for Outstanding Service
By Tyana Johnson, Public Affairs Specialist
In life, challenges are not a matter of if, but when. The real question is: how will we rise to meet them? Many believe the making of an individual’s grit, as well as how they measure grace, is formed in those trying times.
For Edna Curry, a peer specialist with the Salisbury VA Health Care System and a U.S. Navy Veteran, life’s challenges have molded her into a grace-filled individual defined by service to others.
Curry was recently named the 2025 Peer Specialist of the Year for VA’s Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network (VISN 6). Peer specialists are Veterans who have successfully navigated their own journeys of recovery from mental health and/or substance disorders to support other Veterans who may be battling the same as they receive care at VA.
“I think what separates peer specialists from other VA staff is that they're able to share their lived experiences [as Veterans] and by doing that, provide hope and guidance to Veterans who are in need,” said Dr. Alex Jadidian, a tele-mental health coordinator with Salisbury VA .
In Mental Health & Behavioral Sciences service, Curry works closely with her supervisor Dr. Jadidian as well as her colleague peer specialists to bridge that gap for Veterans still learning how to work through their own personal peaks and valleys related to military service.
And Curry does just that tirelessly for all Veterans, day in and day out. One of her teammates attested they did not believe Curry has the words “no” or “cannot” in her vocabulary.
Similarly, Dr. Jadidian also confirmed Curry’s status as an irreplaceable resource for Salisbury VA’s Healthcare for Homeless Veterans program.
As an essential part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) team in Charlotte, Curry has played a pivotal role in expanding the essential outreach services available to Veterans, including temporary and permanent housing throughout the greater Mecklenburg County region.
Curry has been instrumental in establishing support groups for Veterans. She also takes time to educate other peer specialists and form connections and relationships with local food pantries in the catchment area.
Curry teaches self-advocacy to our nation’s Veterans, ensuring they are connected to necessary resources, and offers a crucial Veteran perspective on the Salisbury VA Mental Health team, particularly in supporting Veterans with acute housing needs.
After dealing with her own brief stint of homelessness, Curry now exemplifies the indomitable spirit of all Veterans by ensuring her fellow service members know their past traumas do not need to define them.
“My own path to well-being began when I finally removed my mask and started living authentically. Instead of running from my pain, I acknowledged it head-on. I broke my silence, refusing to let past traumas continue dictating my emotions and daily life,” she said.
As a peer specialist with lived experience, Curry constantly provides hope in desperate situations and helps Veterans connect to the services they need for recovery in their Whole Health journeys at VA.
“Finding a renewed sense of purpose allowed me to heal internally and rebuild my hope and happiness,” she said. “Maintaining this balance is a daily effort that involves many facets: therapy, medication, professional and natural support systems, and taking mental health days when I need dedicated time for myself. This is just a glimpse of what keeps my life in balance.”
Congratulations to Mrs. Curry on this well-deserved recognition!
For more information on this story, email the Office of Strategic Communications & Public Affairs at salisburyvapublicaffairs@va.gov.
About the Salisbury VA Health Care System
At the Salisbury VA Health Care System, our mission is to fulfill President Lincoln’s promise to care for those who have served in our nation’s military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors.
Learn more at www.va.gov/salisbury-health-care.