When Tony Canzonieri returned from Mosul, Iraq in 2007, all he had was time: time to remember the things he had seen, and time to drink to try to forget.

It was not until a year and a half later, when he spoke about his recurring nightmares at a Vet4Vets workshop in San Diego, Calif., while surrounded by other veterans, that he felt like someone understood.

"I can't even describe how marked the change was," he said.

This fall, buoyed by a grant from a local foundation, the West Newton resident is bringing Vets4Vets to the Pittsburgh area.

Recently appointed co-directors of Vets4Vets in southwestern Pennsylvania, Mr. Canzonieri, 23, and his colleague Gabriel Crawford are hosting a Vets4Vets workshop at the Jumonville Camp and Retreat Center in Fayette County from Nov. 6-8.

They hope the organization will take root and spread, forming a peer-to-peer support network across the region.

Vets4Vets was founded in 2005 by Vietnam veteran Jim Driscoll to help Iraq and Afghanistan veterans readjust to civilian life. Workshops and meetings center on listening sessions in which veterans take turns talking uninterrupted to a group of other veterans.

Earlier this month, the Pittsburgh-based Staunton Farm Foundation awarded a $110,000 grant to Vets4Vets, enabling the organization to hire Mr. Canzonieri and Mr. Crawford, 25, ofPoint Breeze.

Because of the grant and additional support provided by other organizations, November's workshop is free. Attendees must register by October 31; Mr. Crawford said 25 of the 40 spots have been filled.

Iraq veteran Frederick Johnson, of East Liberty, has attended three Vets4Vets workshops. He said the organization is a much-needed resource in the area.

Recent veterans, he said, "need to know that there are other people struggling."

Now the founder and executive director of Heroes Today, an organization dedicated to homeless veterans, Mr. Johnson said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder when he returned from Iraq in 2005.

He said he is grateful for the services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, but added that few programs have "the same type of impetus" as Vets4Vets.

"We don't counsel," said Mr. Crawford. "But what we do offer is an opportunity for soldiers to share their experiences with another soldier."

Mr. Canzonieri said he had attended a similar peer support group at the Pittsburgh Vet Center in Westwood, but felt alienated from the other veterans, who had all served in Vietnam or Korea.

"What do I have in common with an 80-year-old Korean war veteran?" he said, explaining that he believes Vets4Vets is special because it focuses solely on Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

Mr. Crawford and Mr. Canzonieri said Vets4Vets works best as an intermediary between veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs: a resource to help people navigate the bureaucracy.

Both men have their work cut out for them -- last year's regional workshop never evolved into regular local meetings -- but Mr. Canzonieri said he is confident in their mission.

"The problem we have is reaching the vets," he said. "If we can just get the vets to come, they love it."