Week 11: Determination

 Welcome all to Week 11 of this semester, where we finally welcome in some autumn weather (below 70 degrees)!

Much of the same this week regarding my personal progress. I am wrapping up my final efforts in regards to revising the selected interview completed by my peers. As I have mentioned previously, the efforts of my predecessors of this project have been great and effective, as there have been few corrections of mention. 

As for the Veterans History Project at large, and thankfully it was my opportunity to share in such, we participated in the community-led and organized Orange County Veteran Services 80th Anniversary Resource Fair. This resource fair offers veterans and their families the opportunity to connect with various organizations and services dedicated to assisting veterans in our Orange County community. There were easily dozens of tables there, from financial and legal information to benefits counseling. It was very encouraging to see how many services were offered to assure that members of our community were being offered the help that many of them very desperately need. One group that stands out to me in memory is the Guardian Angels organization, which provides emotional support animals, primarily dogs, to veterans who are struggling with their mental health. The organization very proudly claims that out of the hundreds of support animals they have provided, they have never lost a veteran to suicide as a participant of their program. It's a beautiful thing to have a loving companion by your side to accompany you through the difficulties of the world. I had the opportunity to speak with one of the founding members, who introduced our group to his very sweet support dog, and shared with us that he used to endure terrible nightmares and dealt with a severe lack of sleep as a consequence. Not anymore! Help comes in so many forms, and seeing people in need reach out for the support that will enable them to get through hardship is very heartwarming.

The table that myself, Jessenia, and our coordinator for this whole event, Riley, held down to promote the services of the Veterans History Project had plenty of inquiries as well. I hope to see many of the faces we saw that Saturday come November 15th, when we will be participating in a Story Day event for our veterans. This is an opportunity provided so that the community may hear from their stories, and so that veterans may be provided the catharsis of exploring the events that led them to serve, what they may have seen or endured, and how reintegration into civilian life has treated them. As a whole, we had many folks take interest in our project's work, and received much praise and many compliments, as well as promises of following up for interviews in the future.

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