December 2, 2011 – Veterans programs supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) were showcased recently at a special event at the White House. Attendees included veterans, their families, Veterans’ Service Organizations, congressional staff, veteran healthcare providers and caregivers, as well as White House and NEH staff. Project directors and NEH staff made presentations on two featured programs: the Maine Humanities Council’s reading program, Literature & Medicine: Humanities at the Heart of Health Care, and the Aquila Theatre’s classical dramatic performance program, Ancient Greeks/Modern Lives. In a statement released prior to the event, NEH Chairman Jim Leach said, “Understanding the experience of combat veterans is a complex challenge not only for them, but also for their caregivers, mental health professionals, families, and loved ones. These two programs are not just innovative in addressing veteran recovery; they’re highly effective and low-cost.”
Created by the Maine Humanities Council with support from NEH, the Literature & Medicine program is a hospital-based, scholar-led, reading-and-discussion program for health care professionals. According to the NEH description, the program “is now active in twenty Veterans Affairs hospitals and health care facilities across the country, and boasts proven increases in empathy for patients, medical team-building, and job satisfaction for its participants”.
Ancient Greeks/Modern Lives is an NEH-funded program that uses staged performances featuring combat veterans as actors followed by open discussions to explore the themes of Ancient Greek Literature that speak to today’s combat veterans and their families. These discussions “provide a forum where veterans and their families can feel accepted and discuss their experiences, allowing for what the Greeks called catharsis”. The Aquila Theatre travels around the country, performing in both rural and urban veteran communities.
For more information, see Jim Leach’s blog post for the White House Office of Public Engagement. A video of fhe event, which was streamed lived on the White House website, can be viewed on YouTube.
[This article posted by: Jessica Irons.]
