Talking Service News
We’re thrilled 2016 begins with expansion of our Talking Service program in 3 states! Thanks to the support of state humanities councils and generous host sites, our reading and discussion program will help more veterans acclimate to civilian life by sharing their experiences and ideas with fellow vets.
The Charles George VA Medical Center (CGVAMC) in Asheville, NC, will be the site of three concurrent 8-week Talking Service discussion groups beginning in January, 2016. One group will be for women in the Military Sexual Trauma unit; another be for OIF/OEF (Iraq and Afghanistan deployment) veterans; and the third group will be for Vietnam-era veterans. The discussions will be co-led by CGVAMC staff and others from outside the facility who are veterans and have experience facilitating discussion groups. The leaders were trained in a day-long workshop in mid-December by Great Books staff member, Donald Whitfield.
Montgomery College, a two-year institution in Tacoma Park, MD, will host a 4-session Talking Service program in February, March, and April, 2016. The group will be co-led by Francine Jamin, former director of the Paul Peck Institute for American Culture and Civic Engagement at Montgomery College, and Jason Franklin, Veterans Program Manager for the Combat2College program at Montgomery.
Tennessee Humanities and Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) are collaborating on a Talking Service implementation at two prisons in Nashville, TN. A Great Books reading and discussion program for prisoners has been conducted by Dr. Philip Phillips and colleagues from MTSU for several years. This spring, the inmates in the program will be discussing selections from Standing Down: From Warrior to Civilian. As if often the case, there is an overlap between the veteran and prison populations.
