I am thankful to have taken part in an Arts in the Armed Forces (AITAF) event in San Antonio on Saturday June 29 – where our Cohen Clinic team did a wonderful job!
The day started off with a tour of the clinic for the AITAF staff and actors (Chad Coleman, L Scott Caldwell, Chris Lowell, and Michael James Shaw), followed by a Q&A breakfast reception with the actors and some former clients as well as community stakeholders. The discussions were very interesting and at times moving, including parallels between the military/veteran population and the actor population re: stigma and mental health, as well as tapping into “darker” aspects of the human experience for work without always having a means of processing what was tapped into.
The main event was held at the Empire Theater in San Antonio, with a sizeable turnout including a fresh class of just-graduated-from-training Airmen. Jill Palmer, Senior Director of Clinic Operations for Endeavors (CVN’s partner for clinics in San Antonio, El Paso, and Killeen), gave a great introduction speech about Endeavors and the San Antonio Clinic itself.
The performance was of Sam Shepard’s “True West,” and the discussion after was very engaging, carrying over some of the same themes discussed in the morning.
Please enjoy this picture of me with Coleman, aka Cutty from the Wire (my favorite show of all time).
By Claire Lawless, MSW
CVN Senior Manager, Clinical Programs