Creative forces: net military yearling arts network
Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network serves the unique and special needs of military patients and veterans who have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and psychological health conditions (PTSD), as well as their families and caregivers.
Made possible by a unique collaboration between the National Endowment for the Arts, the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, and state arts agencies, Creative Forces is a network of caring people who believe in the transformative and restorative powers of art.
We are creative arts therapists, musicians, painters, potters, writers, woodworkers, dancers and doctors, military service members and veterans, community leaders and policymakers. Some of us work on military bases. Some of us work at hospitals. Some of us work at community art centers.
All of us have the same mission: To help military personnel and veterans return to their homes, their missions and their families whole, mentally fit and emotionally ready for whatever comes next.
Creative forces network
We are building a national network of care for our injured service members, whether they are active duty or veterans, in medical treatment or transitioning back home to their bases and communities.
The program has three components: Creative Forces places creative arts therapies at the core of patient-centered care in military medical facilities, as well as a telehealth program for patients in rural and remote areas; provides increased community-based arts opportunities for military and veteran family populations around clinical site locations; and invests in capacity-building efforts, including the development of manuals, training, and research on the impacts and benefits of the treatment methods.
