Are you a former participant who came to us through a treatment program? Would you be willing to tell your story? We’d like to show the impact of these programs, not through numbers, but through your stories in your words. Try to answer these questions in your writing.
-Where were you stationed, and where did you go to receive treatment? What year was it?
-If you’re comfortable sharing it, was there a single moment that was the turning point that led you to getting treatment?
-What were your expectations before or at the start of your first art/music/writing workshop? How did you feel after your first session?
-What value did you get from the workshops?
-Are you still engaging in the arts? How?
-Where do you live now? How is your life today different from what you imagined way back then?
-What amazing thing are you doing? Bragging encouraged.
Seema Reza is a poet and essayist and the author of two books: A Constellation of Half-Lives and When the World Breaks Open. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Writing and Community Building from Goddard College. In 2010 Seema began working with service members, veterans, and their families at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and has since developed a unique multi-hospital arts program that encourages the use of the arts as a tool for narration, self-care and socialization. In 2015, the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore awarded Seema the Col John Gioia Patriot Award for her work with service members in military hospitals. Seema is a 2019 George W. Bush Institute Stand-To Veteran Leadership Scholar.
