USVAP eNews
October 2010
October, 2010 - Vol 1, Issue 3
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Lt. Dan Band Tours Alaska
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 | | While walking in the woods at Kodiak |
News from Kimo: "The Lt. Dan Band did an unusual USO tour this past fall: for the first time, we went to Alaska for three performances at military bases there. I was not prepared for the unbelievable beauty of Kodiak Island, and other places we visited were enough to make you want to pick up and leave just to move to Alaska for good. The folks who were our guides were so friendly and hospitable that we had a hard time saying good-bye after such a short visit.
It was a photographers' dream, and I hope to capture at least a little of what I saw there through my new website called "KimoPics". Here are just a few photos from the trip, and if I could pick just one place to return for another visit, it would be Alaska!!"
 | | Early Morning Trees in Anchorage |
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Chicago Cable Access Network USVAP show goes Monthly!
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We are happy to have been given the opportunity to now become one of the Veterans' Consortium on CAN TV in Chicago, which will allow USVAP to host a 30-minute show every month, as opposed to just 4 times per year. Last month, Carol interviewed a Music Therapist from Jessie Brown VA Medical Center here in Chicago. Next month's guest will be painter and Vietnam Veteran Konrad Hack, who also did the oil painting of the "Buffalo Soldier Kimo" on the horse.
For Chicago residents, "Veterans Issues" airs every Thursday night at 6:30 PM on CAN TV 21
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Thanks For Your Support.....
We would like to thank those who purchased merchandise from our store (click to go to store), where 100% of all proceeds go to USVAP. We also now have our own site on E-bay, through their charitable donations pathway called "MissionFish", where 100% of all purchases go directly to USVAP programs. (click for link)
If you are in Arizona and visit one of the State Parks, make sure you check out the gift shops there: we recently sent our entire Buffalo Soldier merchandise inventory to them, which includes t-shirts, posters, boxes of gift cards, and "Buffalo Soldier" CDs. Kimo was commissioned to composed the symphonic piece "Buffalo Soldiers" in 2003 by West Point for their Bicentennial: the CD is still available through our own site if you can't make it to Arizona!
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| Greetings! | |
Thanks for signing up for our USVAP e-Newsletter: we appreciate the opportunity to share what we've been doing, especially with our "Artistic Tools" initiative.
We look forward to sharing our enthusiasm with you, and hope we can combine your passion for veterans' issues with your appreciation for the arts.
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Carol Williams presents Artistic Tools in Vermont
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 | Carol presenting a keyboard to the White River Junction VA Medical Center
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The Va Medical Center in White River Junction, Vermont, is home to the PTSD National Research Center, and just this summer moved into their new building on the grounds of the VA center there. Carol visited the PTSD center, played on one of the in-patient units, and then presented a new keyboard to the Recreation Services of the hospital (Betty Ackerman on the left in the photo).
 | | PTSD Research Center Building |
For those of you who didn't know that the VA had a PTSD Research center (and we didn't either!), the facility in Vermont is just one of 7 divisions the VA has nationwide. The White River Junction location is the headquarters for research and education; clinical care is provided within the VA Medical Center, which has 12 in-patient beds on their mental health unit. That is where they will put the USVAP donation of the digital keyboard as an "Artist Tool" for patients to use as they wish.
Carol toured the PTSD center and talked to Laurie Slone, Ph.D, who is the associate director for information and communication at the center.  | Carol performing for inpatients on 3-South Dayroom
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Dr. Slone states that "there is a vast difference between the VA/DOD approach to PTSD within the past 30 years, mostly due to the recognition of PTSD as a medical diagnosis, plus the awareness of trauma and stress symptoms, and the importance of treating them".
The VA itself does not address the prevention of either PTSD or MST (Military Sexual Trauma), as these are in the area of the DOD (Department of Defense) programs. However, she says that "both the VA and DOD provide a TON of support for service members through preparation for deployment and return from combat areas", which is markedly improved from years past. She says that "one of the surprising findings in the recent wars is that there is statistically a great amount of societal support for service members, even from people who do not necessarily support the war effort itself, which is a big difference from the Vietnam era".
The center posts an on-line PTSD research every quarter, and also connects with a national resource directory which demonstrates some of the support offered, and also updates research. Dr. Slone is enthusiastic in her hope that service members, veterans, and family members will contact this website if they are searching for resources.
www.nationalresourcedirectory.gov
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In November, Carol will travel to the VA Medical Center in St Louis, MO, to present a Fender Squire electric guitar to the Recreation Services department there, along with a concert at their Community Living Center there. We have many other projects in the works, all with the mission in mind to "increase the representation of veterans in the arts community". Visit our website to see what we've been up to, and who has been with us on the journey!
We hope to be in touch again soon!
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 Kimo Williams Executive DirectorUnited States Veterans Arts Program (USVAP)
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