Veteran and Community Conference

October 2013, Philadelphia, PA

Warrior Writers hosted a powerful gathering of veterans, artists, supporters and healers focused on art-making and wellness Oct. 25-27 in Philadelphia. The conference featured writing and art-making workshops, trainings in working with vets and running workshops, and healing sessions. Our overall goal was to create space and community for veterans and their supporters to engage in healing and the re-integration process together.

Schedule

Friday, Oct. 25 at Culture Works, 1315 Walnut St. Suite 320
1:00-3:00: Working w/ Vets 101 (required for non-veteran attendees)
3:15-5:00: Writing workshop (open to veterans and non-veterans
5:30 -6:00: Our City Our Vets mural viewing and discussion, 4129 Woodland Ave. (take 36 trolley west and get off at 41st)

Saturday, Oct. 26 at The Rosenbach Museum, 2008 Delancey Place
10:30-12:00: Writing workshop (open to veterans and non-veterans), Working w/ Vets 101
12:00-12:30: Opening Circle
12:30-2:00: Lunch
12:30-3:00 Acupuncture
2:00-3:30: Veterans Writing Workshop
3:00-5:30: Reiki
3:45-5:30: Facilitator’s Training or Visual Arts workshop
7:30 PM: Performance, The Cedar Works, 4919 Pentridge Street, Philadelphia, PA 19143
Directions to Performance location: Take the 34 trolley towards West Philadelphia, get off at 49th Street, walk south a half a block on 49th Street and then take a right onto Pentridge Street. Performance is free and open to the public.

Sunday, Oct. 27 at The Rosenbach Museum, 2008 Delancey Place 10:30-11:45: WW member discussion (closed) or DIscussion on Community support for Veterans
11:30-5:00: Massage
11:45-12:45: Lunch
12:45-1:30: Closing session
1:45-3:15: Warrior Writers meetings
3:30-5:00: Warrior Writers meetings

Free healing sessions for veterans including Acupuncture, Reiki and Massage

Workshops:

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.

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 Workshop:
Workshops designed to assist veteransand supporters to share stories, opinions, and ideas, using prompts to enable participants to do productive writing/reflecting/story-telling on the spot where they learn by doing. Open to veterans and non-veterans

Warrior Writers 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 our Working with Veterans 101 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.

Visual Arts Workshop
Come learn to use a variety of media for creative expression. Open to veterans and non-veterans.

Writing Editing Workshop