Creative Forces Related Resources

As a part of the larger Creative Forces initiative, the Creative Forces National Resource Center provides resources that enhance the lives of trauma-exposed service members, veterans, their families, and caregivers through the arts. Specific resources on the NRC for organizations looking to provide community arts engagement for military-connected individuals include the findings and lessons learned from a study done on ten community arts engagement pilot projects funded by Creative Forces, a summary of interviews with subject matter experts on serving military-connected populations, as well as Creative Forces: Healing the Invisible Wounds of War, an interactive exhibition of forty-five works of visual art, music, and performances by military service members and veterans who are current or former participants in the Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network.

In addition to the resources on the National Resource Center, many other federal government organizations have also developed online resources for organizations and individuals working with the veteran and military-connected population in the community space. These include:

• As a part of Community Salute, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an initiative aimed at strengthening the ability of libraries, archives, and museums (LAMs) to respond to the needs of veterans and military families created a collection of resources to guide community development work. Topics include: Supporting Veterans and Military Families: Understanding the Community, Supporting Veterans and Military Families: Identifying Your Role, Supporting Veterans and Military Families: Partner Snapshot, Supporting Veterans and Military Families: Stories from the Military Community, Supporting Veterans and Military Families: How To Begin.
• The Department of Veteran Affairs has created the Community Provider Toolkit, a resource for health care professionals working with Veterans outside of the VA health care system. This site offers information and tools relevant to Veterans’ mental health and well-being, curated especially for community providers. While geared toward health care professionals, the site includes resources that may also be useful to community organizations serving military and veteran populations. These resources include information on the services available for veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs and information on subsets of the military-connected population to include American Indian and Alaska Native Veterans, Veterans with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Queer Identities, Veterans with Transgender and Gender Diverse Identities, Partners and Families of Veterans, and Women Veterans.
• Geared toward employers, the Department of Veteran Affairs has also published the Veterans Employment Toolkit. Specific resources within this toolkit that may be useful to organizations starting to work with military-connected populations include resources for understanding military culture (military structure, military culture, military deployment) and information on the challenges military personnel may have readjusting to civilian life.
• There are also several resources that provide information on data, research, and statistics, including demographics, in regard to the military population. These resources include Military One Source and the VA’s Open Data Portal.

Organizations looking to learn more about working with military-connected populations might want to connect with the Veterans Affairs Office in your State or Territory. State-level Departments of Veterans Affairs provide support and services to veterans within their states and work with other organizations that also serve Veterans.

Additionally, many State Arts Agencies and Local Arts Agencies have funded or accomplished initiatives, summits, and or other projects in the Arts and Military space and may be good starting points to learn more about organizations your community already working within the Arts, Health, and military space and established partnerships or collaborations between State Arts Agencies and State Department of Veterans Affairs. In April 2021, the Indiana Arts Commission hosted a webinar Creative Arts and Veterans that included several representatives of the Indiana Department of Veteran Affairs around the topic of meaningfully connecting the art community with the veteran community.

The Bush Institute has published several articles and other resources on serving Post-9/11 veterans.

Psych Armor provides resources and classes to Americans to effectively engage with and support military service members, Veterans, and their families. This is especially helpful for organizations seeking to learn more about military cultural competency.

• Veterans Crisis Line – If you are having thoughts of suicide, call 1-800-273-8255, then PRESS 1 or visit http://www.veteranscrisisline.net/
  • For emergency mental health care, you can also go directly to your local VA medical center 24/7, regardless of your discharge status or enrollment in other VA health care.
• Vet Centers–Discuss how you feel with other Veterans in these community-based counseling centers. 70% of Vet Center staff are Veterans. Call 1-877-927-8387 or find one near you.
• VA Mental Health Services Guide–This guide will help you sign up and access mental health services.
• MakeTheConnection.net—information, resources, and Veteran to Veteran videos for challenging life events and experiences with mental health issues.
• RallyPoint—Talk to other Veterans online. Discuss: What are your feelings as the Taliban reclaim Afghanistan after 20 years of US involvement?
• Download VA’s self-help apps—Tools to help deal with common reactions like stress, sadness, and anxiety. You can also track your symptoms over time.
• Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)—Request a Peer Mentor
• VA Women Veterans Call Center—Call or text 1-855-829-6636 (M-F 8AM – 10PM & SAT 8AM – 6:30PM ET)
• VA Caregiver Support Line – Call 1-855-260-3274 (M-F 8AM – 10PM & SAT 8AM – 5PM ET)
• Together We Served—Find your battle buddies through unit pages
• George W. Bush Institute—Need help or want to talk? Check-In or call:1-630-522-4904 or email: checkin@veteranwellnessalliance.org
• Elizabeth Dole Foundation Hidden Heroes—Join the Community
• American Red Cross Military Veteran Caregiver Network—Peer Support and Mentoring
• Team Red, White & Blue—Hundreds of events weekly. Find a chapter in your area
• Student Veterans of America—Find a campus chapter to connect with
• Team Rubicon—Find a local support squad