Veteran voices
California legislative hearing reveals stories of ‘post-traumatic strength’ through creative expression
Last Tuesday at the State Capitol in Sacramento was an emotive demonstration of the power of art making, as the Joint Committee on Arts hosted an informational hearing that gathered federal and state departments, arts providers, and veterans to explore the role of community arts programs and arts therapy in healing the wounds of war.
Committee Chair Senator Ben Allen, Vice Chair Assemblymember Kansen Chu, legislators, and witnesses were visibly moved as agencies, advocates, and veterans shared profound experiences and spoke passionately to the impact of art services as a mechanism for recovery from the physical and psychological trauma of military service, and reconnecting veterans with their communities.
The weight of their testimonies and their voices, as California Arts Council director Anne Bown-Crawford said at the start of the hearing, is greater than we can recount. Accordingly, a portion of panelists’ statements are below.
Video of the full hearing is available on the California Arts Council YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9KLofKUywsHzvdFXuio6Gw-XUdX-OUA.
“There’s inherent value in cultural enrichment and exposure to the arts … and there’s potential for so much more than that. There’s therapeutic value. Especially when art programs are part of broader, wraparound services for veterans reintegrating into civilian life.”
“There are challenges among our nation’s and our state’s veteran population, including PTSD, TBI, veteran suicide, homelessness, and overrepresentation in the prison system.”
“No place needs the support of the arts as much as California does, because we are unique. California is home to the nation’s largest veteran population, with roughly 1.7 million veterans.”
— Vito Imbasciani, M.D., Secretary, CalVet
“The arts have the power to lend people agency, particularly for those who have been marginalized or alienated — people who carry with them personal struggle and challenge. The arts are effective in reducing the sense of alienation and fragmentation found in our contemporary society.”
— Anne Bown-Crawford, Director, California Arts Council
“Instead of diverging, I think the roads of the arts and military communities are converging. And if they seize this moment, we can make all the difference.”
“The arts, in my opinion, offer a non-stigmatized environment where veterans can choose their own method of healing, and can go and create what I call ‘post-traumatic strength.’”
— Nolen V. Bivens, Brigadier General, U.S. Army, Retired
Military and Arts Community Engagement Advisor, National Endowment for the Arts and Department of Defense Creative Forces Initiative
“In my encounters with the wonderful doctors, the therapists, and among the veteran community, there was a common goal, but there was a disconnect in between each component.”
“Once you leave the military, you realize that you became human again. Art is the bridging of the gap. It’s also a communication between the community of civilians who have never served, who are apprehensive and evasive.”
— Phyllis T. Miller, U.S. Navy, Retired
Creator and Founder, The Veterans Art Venue
“Serving our military and being a part of the global war on terror was the most seminal experience of my life. It also greatly affected me. I was in combat all the way up until the week I flew home, and I could not get the war out of my head, playing like a movie inside my head nonstop.”
“A model of exploring movement and dance, and that way it frees us, has enabled me to let go of my anger, see the beauty in myself and others, and has provided me the tools to live a positive, productive life.”
— Christopher Loverro, U.S. Army, Retired
Founder, Warriors for Peace Theatre
Participant, The Veterans Project, Diavolo Dance
“After I came back from Iraq, I didn’t talk about it. I was 21 years old. … If there’s one thing that I’ve learned, it’s that we’re not just talking about veterans making artwork, we’re talking about building a community, staying active with that community, and staying alive.”
— Amber Hoy, U.S. Army, Retired; Artist Programs Manager, Kala Art Institute
“Because of this organization [So Say We All], it has helped me put that part of my life in perspective, and — not way walk away from it; it’s always going to be a part of me — it’s less of a monkey on my back. It’s more of a monkey that walks beside me now. And I understand it’s there, and it understands I’m here, and we kind of work hand in hand with each other now.”
“It helps facilitate conversation. People don’t know how to come up and talk to me, but when they hear my story, they have some kind of relationship. … We become humanized at that point. We’re no longer this person that media or the movies have put this kind of aspect to. It’s not Zero Dark Thirty, it’s not Black Hawk Down. We are real human beings that have a voice, we are real human beings that have a heart, we are real human beings that have a soul.”
— Adam Stone, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired; Member, So Say We All
“Art lights up a pleasure center in the brain that releases dopamine. That good feeling, the dopamine, encourages an individual to stay in the present moment without regretting the past or fearing the future.”
“Art is a medicine that can be independently realized by veterans to help them through moments of anxiety and stress.”
— Elizabeth Washburn
Executive Director, Combat Arts San Diego
“When I got out of the military, I was in a depressive state. For two years, I would just go home and sleep. I wasn’t really living my life.”
“The program [VetArt] has helped me tremendously on getting back into life. It supplied me an outlet. And I saw that it helps other veterans, too, so that’s why I ended up volunteering.”
— Reginald Green, U.S. Navy, Retired
Volunteer Instructor, VetArt
“Speaking for myself, I deal with PTSD. The combination of the PTSD and music therapies are working for me, and getting me to this point. … It has helped me through life.”
“Drumming helps release stress. It works for me. … It relieved me from a lot of tension and anxiety.”
— Samuel R. “Mombo” Hernandez, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired
Musician and Teaching Artist, Del Norte Association for Cultural Awareness
“We see through the work we do that the arts are a need-to-have, not a nice-to-have. The way Creative Forces presents its mission is embedding us on bases, as part of the interdisciplinary team. So we work alongside speech language pathologists, mental health professionals, recreational therapists, occupational therapists, to really provide the arts as a core of the treatment.”
“[Captain Luis Avila] was in a coma; he couldn’t speak. Through the amazing work of the interdisciplinary team at Walter Reed, he was able to emerge and rehabilitate. Music is such a big part of his rehabilitation. … He was able to perform alongside Renee Fleming and the National Symphony Orchestra at last year’s National Memorial Day Concert.”
— Rebecca Vaudreuil, Ed.M., MT-BC, Music Therapist; Music Therapy Lead, Creative Forces Initiative; Concussion Care Clinic, Camp Pendleton
Since 2014, the California Arts Council has addressed the unique needs of California’s veterans through its Veterans in the Arts grant program. The program offers support to nonprofit arts organizations, local arts agencies, and veteran’s assistance agencies providing arts opportunities for veterans, active military, and their families. Ninety-five grants were awarded in the first three years of the program.
For more information on the California Arts Council’s grant program for veteran arts services, visit the California Arts Council Veteran in the Arts webpage.
For details on clinical studies examining the physical, emotional, economic impacts and benefits of the arts for military personnel, visit the National Endowment for the Arts Creative Forces Research webpage at www.arts.gov/partnerships/creative-forces/research.
(All photos by Danica Skillman, Senate Rules Photography.)
