The Ohio Veterans Arts Initiative offers veterans free art classes — from painting to guitar — as an alternative way to process trauma and reduce suicide rates.
Heather Seymour directs the statewide program at the Central Ohio VA, which falls under the umbrella of whole health and focuses on preventative ways to support physical and mental health.
"Sometimes it can be quite hard to verbalize past traumas or to verbalize what's actually going on in your mental landscape," Seymour said. "But having a side door — processing a painting or a collage or a piece of writing where you're able to talk about your lived experience or talk about your emotional landscape through this aesthetic or through an art piece — becomes sometimes a lot easier for folks to really connect with themselves and to storytell in a different way."
The Veterans Arts Initiative aims to increase storytelling and create a human connection to reduce veteran suicide. Seymour said the program has saved lives.
"We get emails, and we get phone calls and teary messages all the time that this program saved my life," she said.
The arts aren't new to the military. They've been part of military culture for more than a century.
"A lot of people don't know how much the arts have been integrated within the military," Seymour said. "The first paintings on the walls were of war, and how drumming has been used throughout history to notify soldiers on the field."
Historical photographs show service members from the Civil War through World War II engaged in creative pursuits. The military also has a rich history of leatherworking and music.
We get emails and we get phone calls and teary messages all the time that this program saved my life.Heather Seymour
"I think we don't tend to think of the VA as this very creative space," Seymour said. "Or maybe we say, 'Oh, this is a wonderful new program.' Well, it actually isn't new. It's been going on for years and years and years."
Seymour said her program offers something for everyone: painting and sculpture classes, theater and music, guitar and harmonica lessons, and leatherworking at Tandy Leather.
"Just come check it out," Seymour said. "You can walk in and if it's not your jam, you can walk out."
Seymour encourages veterans to participate, not just for themselves but also for the program's future sustainability.
"When veterans show up, they're paying it forward to the next veteran because without veterans, we don't have funding," she said. "And without veterans showing up, we don't have participation numbers to show this is a need."
Veterans' Voices is presented by Wright-Patt Credit Union. Additional support comes from the Dayton Ombudsman Veterans Transition Team and Montgomery County Veterans Service Commission. Veterans' Voices is produced at the Eichelberger Center for Community Voices.
If you or a veteran you know is in crisis, the Veterans Crisis Line connects service members, veterans, and their families with qualified responders. Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or visit VeteransCrisisLine.net.
