Veterans and Community Conference: Coming Home through Art and Dialogue

Warrior Writers hosts this powerful gathering of veterans, artists, supporters and healers focused on art-making and wellness. Day 1 will focus on content creation and activities for the Our City, Our Vets mural, and will feature writing and art-making workshops, seminars on how to build healthy relationships between veterans and allies, and discussion panels exploring local support for veterans.  Our overall goal is to create space and community for veterans and their supporters to engage in healing and the re-integration process together.

Overview of schedule
Day 1: 
10-12: 2 Workshops: Working with Veterans 101 and Veterans Writing Workshop
12-2: Lunch and Opening Discussion (includes intros)
2-320: Visual Arts Collaboration Session (vets and allies, Working with Veterans 101 attendance required for allies)
2-320: Creative Writers editing session (vets and allies, Working with Veterans 101 attendance required for allies)
3-5: Movement workshop
3-430: Supporting veterans discussion
10-12, 2-5: Holistic Healing sessions
Documentation Teams working (all day) - contact us to help (info@warriorwriters.org)

Day 2:
12-1: Warrior Writers Organizing Meeting (big picture, regional ideas, next book, mural, etc.)
115-230: Writing workshop/Facilitator’s Training (vets and allies, Working with Veterans 101 attendance required for allies)
245-4: Seminar: Operation Recovery and other ways to support vets
12-4: Open Space Workshop for artistic creation/collaboration
415-5: Closing
12-4: Holistic Healing sessions
Documentation Teams working (all day) - contact us to help (info@warriorwriters.org)

Workshop Descriptions:

Working with Veterans 101- an arts-based workshop for civilian allies
This workshop is centered around building beneficial veteran-civilian relationships. We will explore participant's perceptions about and relationships with veterans. We’ll utilize creative writing/art-making, dialogue, participatory learning and active listening processes, as well as, the artwork of Veteran artists to guide our discussions. Some areas of learning & investigation will include: veterans’ issues and experiences, PTSD, challenges/benefits of working with veterans, and specific information about healthy ways of engaging veterans.  This workshop will provide a foundation from which civilian allies can build healthy and sustainable relationships with veterans and move toward creative collaboration. We also require any volunteers interested in facilitation or arts collaboration through Warrior Writers to attend a training with us.  Art/reflections from this workshop will be collected as possible content for the Veterans’ Mural; however, there is no obligation to submit work for the mural.

Veterans Writing Workshop 
Our workshops are designed to assist veterans to share stories, opinions, and ideas, using prompts to enable participants to do productive writing/reflecting/story-telling/art-making on the spot where they learn by doing. Prompts and discussions cover a variety of military issues and experiences such as joining the military, homecoming, deployment, relationships, healing, growth, anger, etc. A crucial aspect of the workshop is that the discussions and writings are guided by participation. Veterans’ support for each other is a key aspect of collaboration.  A highlight for many veterans is having a space to air pent-up thoughts with others who understand and a sense of empowerment in the ability to tell their own stories. The workshop is for any military veteran regardless of their experiences with writing, combat, art, deployment, etc. Writing from this workshop will be collected as possible content for the Veterans’ Mural; however, there is no obligation to submit work for the mural.

Visual Arts Collaboration Session/Community Creativity Session
Veterans and civilians come together to explore writing done by veterans in earlier workshops. Writing will be shared with the group as a whole before dividing into smaller sections to focus on particular artistic areas.  Some groups will work to create visual representations of the writing, while others will focus on editing the work, or preparing it to be performed on stage. The visual creations and performances will be utilized for the Veterans’ Mural and related activities,however, there is no obligation to submit work for the mural.  Community members must have attended an allies training.

Writers Workshop/Facilitator’s Training
Interested in possibly running a writing workshop in your area? Maybe looking to do closer work with veterans in the future? Warrior Writers founder Lovella Calica will lead a training for veterans and allies interested in facilitating workshops. Having attended a Warrior Writers allies training is a MUST for civilians interested in attending this workshop. The format is the same as a regular WW workshop, but with added tips, conversations and a DIY guide; essentially, you see it in action. Attendance to this workshop does not authorize one to lead workshops using the WW name, but is a stepping stone in the process. Art/reflections from this workshop will be collected as possible content for the Veterans’ Mural; however, there is no obligation to submit work for the mural.

Seminar: Veterans and Community Support
Members of the Operation Recovery Campaign Team will lead a discussion on Operation Recovery and ways to get involved in supporting veterans. Operation Recovery is the first ever Iraq & Afghanistan veteran-led campaign, aiming to stop the deployment of traumatized troops and win veterans and service members Right to Heal. Art/reflections from this workshop will be collected as possible content for the Veterans’ Mural; however, there is no obligation to submit work for the mural.

Holistic Healing Sessions
Healing practitioners in the skills of acupuncture, yoga, reiki, massage therapy, and other areas will be offering free sessions to veterans throughout both days. 

Registration required, fill out attached form or download on our website and send to:  rsvp@warriorwriters.org

Locations:
Day 1 ~ 10-5: Drexel University Campus, Creese Student Center, 
630pm: 535 South Street
Day 2 ~ 12-5: TBD

Childcare assistance available, contact info@warriorwriters.org
Presented by Warrior Writers
Hosted by: Drexel Veterans Association, Mural Arts Program, Sparkplug