(Help Heal Veterans)
On Saturday, February 1, The Hemet Elks Lodge (located at 1305 W. Florida Ave), will host a “Help Heal Veterans” event starting at 11am. Therapeutic craft kits will be distributed and assembled in a group setting. The free event is open to the public and free of charge.
Chip Perky, Plant Manager of the non-profit organization, Help Heal Veterans, will be present to distribute a variety of craft kits ranging from woodworking and needlecrafts, to models and leatherworks. Some of the kits render functionable items, for example: leather pouches and wheelchair gloves, while others are more artistic in nature.
Perky will be present to assist participants in assembling kits as he has helped design them and knows how they piece together.
The event will be a part of fulfilling Help Heal Veterans mission, which Perky says, “…is to distribute therapeutic arts and crafts to help veterans through the healing process; to introduce them, their families, and the public to the benefits of craft therapy and its rehabilitative properties through the creative process, – all while being surrounded by a supportive network of individuals.”
Many veterans are dealing with the mental and physical scars of service and find the craft kits to be a valuable escape and aide for coping with symptoms of PTSD and grief, as well as improving motor skills. The kits are designed to get their minds off the past and the worries of the future, and to focus on the task at hand while crafting a functional item or art piece.
Help Heal Veterans has been providing the free arts and crafts kits to homebound and hospitalized veterans for decades. Rather than ending up in landfills, the materials for these kits are donated by supporters such as Southwest Airlines and American Woodmark, who supply tons of leather, wood, and foam to be reused through the program’s mission in helping those who serve our country.
Veterans and the general public are encouraged to attend this event and see what is being done to support the Veterans, and to learn more about the program.
For more information on Help Heal Veterans, please visit https://www.healvets.org/
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Thank you goes to Mr. Jim Winget, veterans chairman for Hemet Elks Lodge #1740 for his devotion to veterans organizing this event.