Graham testimony: Dwyer program and Remembrance Ruck camaraderie
Graham praises the Dwyer program for morale, health, and wellness activities like salsa classes, cooking, and rucking groups. He describes the Remembrance Ruck experience as filled with love and camaraderie, and encourages the city to continue it annually as a networking and community-building event.
And I'll just list off what I have here.
This was mentioned recently, too, and I do have to mention this, that there's a perception issue with people that served.
And, you know, if you have a mental health issue, that you're broken.
One of the things I'll say is that.
Anthony, who lost his son, he, this sort of goes up his alley, what he mentioned is that vets are, that's one of the things I noticed.
Veterans are some of the most highly valued individuals in the workspace.
It's a very layered approach once they get to a point where they can get to the end of the bridge.
I'll be brutally honest.
I get like that sometimes.
I say it's like a roller coaster.
You have your ebbs and flows.
And veterans definitely are not looking for a handout, but a hand up.
A few of the council members.
I'm not going to say which ones, but you know me well enough that that's what we're all about.
I will throw out one of them.
Councilwoman Lee, she has extensive experience prior to her time on the council, working with veterans and knowing the mental health side of this.
But like I said, it's the one size fits all type of thing.
You know, it's a little difficult.
Somebody did mention it before.
Where one thing may work for one veteran, another, but it may not work for another.
That's why one of the things that DVS is doing, they just rolled it out here in the city, is the WIRE program.
I like to call them morale health and wellness programs, like those types of things.
It could be salsa classes.
It could be cooking classes.
It could be rucking groups.
Another thing I will mention at Remembrance Ruck from Sunday.
And Chair Marano, you were there.
During that entire time, another veteran I was speaking to, and he wasn't the only one, there was others.
From the time that it started to the time it ended, you just felt love.
Those are one of the things that I think best encompasses that remembrance rock.
And I'm looking forward to seeing PBS and the mayor's office and the city council do this year over year because things like this, it brings together people.
You know, like you get to speak to different groups, different organizations.
and sharing camaraderie and getting to know one another and what we all do and sort of a network too.
If there might be a resource in one place that you might be able to connect with another place.
Yeah, I think, like I said, it's not a one size fits all type of issue.