LAKE NONA, Fla. \u2014\u00a0A group of veterans in Orlando are using maps, dice, and their imagination to improve their mental health.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Orlando VA hosts a program called REVEAL, encouraging veterans to play Dungeons and Dragons
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The tabletop, role-play game encourages creativity, teamwork, and imagination
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Veterans in the program say the meetings have improved their mental health by reducing stress and promoting socialization\u00a0
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The group meets twice a month at the Lake Nona campus<\/p>\n
They meet at the Orlando VA campus in Lake Nona, participating in a program called REVEAL, which stands for Reimagining Veterans\u2019 Emotions, Actions, and Life Skills.<\/p>\n
Twice a month, the group plays Dungeons & Dragons, a popular tabletop role-playing game.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat gaming does \u2014 it allows veterans to find that sense of community, especially with other veterans,\u201d said personal support assistant Victor Mitchell. \u201cBut it also allows them to connect with one another on a topic that isn\u2019t exactly the military service that they all share.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program improves mental health by encouraging socialization and creativity in a safe-space. Veteran John Bell told Spectrum News he is new to the program, but likes to get out of the house and play a game with peers.<\/p>\n
Michael Dodge, who says he\u2019s played the game since his teens, says it keeps the brain moving.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is great for getting in, meeting with people, and being able to flex your gray matter because it\u2019s important as you get older,\u201d said Dodge.<\/p>\n
More than 150,000 veterans visit the Orlando VA for services. Staff say they see about 27,000 veterans for mental health services each month.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter what the program is, they\u2019re going to need to integrate with the community afterwards. It was one of the greatest strengths they had \u2014 they were part of a unit and they had people they can depend on. Having that within their recovery is absolutely fundamental,\u201d said Jeremy Goldberg, a mental health social work section manager at Orlando VA.<\/p>\n
Veterans say the program works, and they look forward to continuing their campaign when they meet.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt helps release stress, believe it or not,\u201d said veteran Peter Joyce. \u201cAt the end of the week, you kind of need something to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s worked for lead peer support specialist Jimmy Deloney, who says this is his recovery and it\u2019s transforming his personality.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a social butterfly now. Back in the days I wasn\u2019t,\u201d said Deloney. \u201cSo this camaraderie that I have here with this family is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Veterans interested in learning more about the REVEAL Program may contact Mitchell at\u00a0407-631-2340\u00a0or Deloney at\u00a0407-840-8620. The group meets on the second and fourth Friday of each month, except for holidays, at 1 p.m.<\/p>\n
Veterans can also reach out to the crisis hotline for support by clicking here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAKE NONA, Fla. \u2014\u00a0A group of veterans in Orlando are using maps, dice, and their imagination to improve…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130813,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[25157,1015,4070,115,139,141,140,3393,835],"class_list":{"0":"post-130812","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-orlando","8":"tag-app-honoring-our-veterans","9":"tag-emma-delamo","10":"tag-mental-health","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-orlando","13":"tag-orlando-headlines","14":"tag-orlando-news","15":"tag-veterans","16":"tag-vod"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}