CreatiVets’ goal is to offer opportunities of relief and healing for the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country. Their purpose is to use various forms of art, including songwriting, visual arts, music and creative writing, to help disabled veterans cope with service-related trauma (i.e., post-traumatic stress, or PTS) by fostering self-expression in a way that allows them to transform their stories of trauma and struggle into an art form that can inspire and motivate continued healing.
According to the Department of Defense, one in five veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are diagnosed with PTS – over 300,000 veterans by the end of 2012. The social and economic costs of PTS are immense, and a study posted by the Military Times in 2015 found that the veteran suicide rate in the United States is 20 suicides per day and 14 of those don’t seek help from the VA. Veterans now account for 20% of suicides in the United States.
