Helping Local Vets (And Others) With PTSD Through Art

Sometimes, you run in to things that are unexpected, and I think that may be the case of what happened recently with Chuck Waddel. He is the president of the Southern Utah Veterans Association and he, along with Jerry Vanlwaarden, who is the vice president of the group, were on the radio with us to discuss what they are doing to help veterans in southern Utah.  

So, what was that program they found that might be a bit of a surprise? Vanlwaarden told us, “They do this down in Vista, CA. Chuck Waddell actually discovered them when he was down there in the Oceanside area. What they do is they have a place where they, the veterans with PTSD, and of course being near Oceanside, they have a lot of them, both Army, Navy and Marine Corp, and so they have all kinds of different art programs that people can be in like sculpture, ceramics, metal work and a whole host of other things. They've been recognized by the state of California as well as by San Diego County for the work that they do with veterans. And so whenever Chuck discovered that organization and we both had been talking about something to help people with PTSD because we are in an underserved area.”

The Southern Utah Veterans Association is looking to bring that program here to the Cedar City area. Right now the organization is working on plans to build a center where veterans with PTSD can gather and participate in the art program that is showing success in California.  

And the group has ambitious plans. “We're looking to build and we're in the process of talking to a property owner now for about 17 acres,” Vanlwaarden told us. “And we want to put up a 32,000 square foot building with all of the space for woodworking, lapidary ceramics, baking, just a whole host of things,” he continued. 

More than giving area vets the opportunity to participate in the arts, the group sees the center as a place where those dealing with PTSD can also find a way from the isolation they sometimes feel. 

“Sometimes you have a reluctance for those people to talk about their experiences because the memories will often be painful,” Vanlwaarden said.

And if the Southern Utah Veterans Association can bring the program to full fruition, it will not be strictly for veterans. 

"(It will) be open to the senior citizens, first responders, veterans and the other big thing is homeschooled children can come to our facility and do their work at our facility,” according to Waddell. 

And Waddell sees the new center as a gathering place to bring back the face to face communication that seems to be vanishing from society. 

“Not only that, but it's the socialization that you can (have). You meet with the senior citizens, with the veterans, and everything else it gives. It gives people the place to communicate, and we don't have communication anymore,” Waddell continued. 

And they see the new center as a place more to provide more than a gathering experience. Plans for the center include an amphitheater, along with a full-size recreation of the Vietnam Wall. The design calls for a large courtyard where people could gather and enjoy a meal. 

Ala in all, they are looking at a 32,000 square foot facility, and it, of course comes with a price tag.

How much? “8 million,” Vanlwaarden told us. And where will that come from? “Well, we think there's going to be quite a few foundations that are going to donate. We are also going to be we're setting up a go fund me. And we're also writing grants right now for different phases of it. We don't think any money is going to come from the federal government.” 

The group has also made their case to some of our local government organizations. “We have appeared before the Iron County Commission, all of the Commissioners were very much in favor (of the project). We showed a PowerPoint presentation we did at the Rotary Club as well. We have also been to St. George and we have met with the Marine Corps League in St. George. We have also met with a Rotary Club of veterans in St. George. We talked to City Council people here, as well as the mayor, they are very much on board with doing it. We haven't asked them for money, so we've just shared with them the concept. And so as we go further along what we'll do is we'll do an updated presentation to the city councils in the area, Enoch, Brian Head, and Cedar City, of course.”

If the project is interesting to you, you can find out more by going to suveterans.com to get and overview of the project and ways you can contribute 

And you can listen to our entire segment with the Southern Utah Veterans Association below.