Creative Forces®: NEA Military Healing Arts Network is an initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs and the state and local arts agencies. The initiative seeks to improve the health, wellness, and quality of life for military and veteran populations exposed to trauma, as well as their families and caregivers. Administrative support for the initiative is provided by Americans for the Arts and the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine.

In partnership with Creative Forces, the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region and Colorado Creative Industries are pleased to present Military Arts Connection (MAC), an online resource that connects military service members, veterans and their families to a wide variety of local arts enrichment experiences.

The MAC program is not about art therapy, and the majority of our participating Artist Facilitators are not certified Creative Arts Therapists. Instead, MAC is about leveraging the power of the arts to help create stronger community connections, learn new skills, and enable our local military service members, veterans and their families to unleash their inner creativity. The MAC program is also designed to generate new economic opportunities for local artists and arts organizations, and to provide training and ongoing guidance for participating Artist Facilitators. Ultimately, we hope that MAC will support the military’s emphasis on resiliency and wellness, and help to create new and sustainable connections between the military and arts & cultural sectors here in Colorado’s Pikes Peak region.

Creative Forces began in 2011 as a joint initiative between the National Endowment for the Arts, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Veterans Affairs that focuses on arts and healing in the military sector. In 2017, Fort Carson was selected as one of 11 national program sites. In addition to placing a certified Music Therapist in the Warrior Recovery Center at Fort Carson, the Creative Forces initiative also provided the initial funding to host a Community Summit, and to subsequently launch a local “Community Connections” project that would take place off-post and engage the broader community.

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED

If you work for a local Military & Veteran Service Organization, please follow this link to learn more about getting involved in the MAC program.

If you are a local artist, or work for a local arts organization, please follow this link to learn more about getting involved in the MAC program.

If you are a local military service member, veteran, or dependent who would like to take advantage of the MAC program for yourself or a family member, please follow this link to learn more about getting involved in the MAC program.

If you have questions, please contact (719) 634-2204 or info@MilitaryArtsConnection.org 

Painted Paws for Veterans is a Colorado Nonprofit Corporation and 501c3. They are dedicated to promoting canine companion ownership for Veterans and their Family members, in order to provide emotional support and a way to reconnect to life, both during and after military service.

Their primary mission is to assist Veterans and their Families in the adoption of canine companions by matching Veterans with dogs surrendered to rescues and animal shelters, and providing a visitation environment in which the Veteran will feel safe.

Their objectives are to achieve continued life for the dogs, encourage emotional growth and self-expression for the Veteran or Family member, and promote education of Veteran emotional issues, and how canine ownership can assist through the unconditional love of a companion animal.

For those Veterans whose living conditions prevent them from adopting a dog, they offer weekend retreats on a forty acre ranch in Peyton, Colorado. There, the Veteran will be able to spend time with a canine companion in a calm, quiet environment.

If you are interested in adopting a dog from Painted Paws for Veterans, please visit their webpage at: https://paintedpawsforveterans.org or call (719) 376-0857.

Colorado Springs Conservatory & Citizen Soldier Connection

Thanks to our friends at citizen soldier connection, Colorado Springs Conservatory is very pleased to offer a package of four private/semi private half hour music lessons to soldiers and their families. Lessons are available in voice, piano, guitar, drums, violin, recording arts and other instruments.

The spring semester begins January 18th and runs through May 1st. Classes may be in person at the conservatory or online (except for recording arts). Contact Colorado Springs Conservatory today and begin the New Year with a gift of music from Citizen Soldier Connection.

This program is available for: Active Duty Military, Veterans, their spouses, and their children over the age of 12. 

For further information and registration, please contact Emily Nelson at ENELSON@CSCONSERVATORY.ORG

Colorado Springs Conservatory - 415 South Sahwatch Street. Colorado Springs, CO 80903

(719) 577-4556 CSCONSERVATORY.ORG 

Healing Horses for Armed Forces

We are accepting new service members and/or their families for our Healing Horses for the Armed Forces program.  We offer 90 minute sessions at the ranch free of charge.  Sessions consist of chore time and horse time in a one on one session.  Participants will spend time grooming and caring for horses as well as learning about their behavior and how they can help us.  Call or email to schedule a session.

For More Information:

Eagle's Nest Ranch

http://www.eaglesnestranch.org

303-596-2784

Mentorship Opportunities

Salute Colorado, an organization that offers veteran’s mentorship, networking opportunities and funding for career-enhancing activities, is currently accepting applications from Boulder/Denver area veterans for their 2-year program. 

Visit their website:
http://www.salutecolorado.org for more information.