(upbeat music) - Local vets show area teens strategies for gaming and life.

- In the military, we mentor all our younger service members.

- Veterans and their families find support on the ice.

- Gives you a place in something bigger than yourself.

- He served his country and now he's serving meals that feed the body and soul.

Our organization has done such a great job to help a lot of these veterans.

Plus, see how veterans are turning to ceramics for healing and connection.

Whatever chaos I have going on comes out in my art.

Welcome to You Oughta Know, I'm Shirley Min.

With Veterans Day coming up on November 11th, today we are honoring the men and women who have served our country and the sacrifices they've made.

We begin with a program that's helping veterans find community, connection, and their creative side.

[MUSIC] >> When I'm throwing on the wheel, there's so much feeling going on in my hands, it short circuits my brain.

All of my demons who are normally raving go quiet.

And there's enough of a moment where I'm like, this is easy, I got this.

And then snap, I don't got this anymore.

And so it provides that challenge for me where I keep coming back for more.

I kinda like it.

My favorite technique is hand building because it gives me the opportunity to express things that I otherwise would not have a venue to express.

Whatever chaos I have going on inside here comes out in my art.

I could hold a piece and stare at it for half an hour not knowing what to do and then all of a sudden things start to come together.

Operation Mud really started with the idea of teaching ceramic workshops to vets.

I joined the military in 2008.

I talked to a bunch of the recruiters in Westchester, decided to go with the Army.

They had field artillery and I really enjoy blowing things up with big guns.

I did get injured on my last deployment.

A 200-pound IED ripped my vehicle in half.

My life in a moment, in an instant, changed.

And it's taken me more than a decade to kind of come back to civilization and be comfortable to engage with people.

Clay has been a massive part of that.

I've spent so much time in high stress environments, trying to adjust back to normal society.

I was finding myself wanting to like hide and stay in my house and like not leave because people walking normally is like a threat when you're in Iraq and people driving slow is a threat.

I was finding myself getting frustrated at normal living.

And one of the things that I used to love to do when I was young was art.

This was the largest group of vets that I had been around since I got out in 2015.

I'm hearing stories that I've told myself in my head.

I'm hearing things that I have convinced myself are my problem, not anyone else's problem, So shut up and sit down, internal voice.

And that had power.

We're trying to really lower any barriers to participation.

We wanted the program to be free and the biweekly classes and having time for the community to come together and just be together as a group is so crucial to that and then plenty of time to practice.

We've also been really pleasantly surprised at how much people are returning and this has really become a part of their life that they want to keep coming back to, which is really beautiful.

Here we have the exhibit for Operation Mud.

This is really a great way for us to show the skill growth that they've had.

I'm blown away by how talented some of these veterans have gotten.

When I first started, I was like ready to throw stuff away because it wasn't right, I did it wrong.

And now I'm like, oh, this is pretty.

And I like it.

I know that I feel a lot better than when I walked in, because I'm battling my depression again as the season starts to change.

I feel hope here, because there's always something new.

There's always someone there to help.

There's always someone there to talk to you about the same thing that they're going through with the clay or with life.

The success of this program revolves around the community that it has created.

My name is Kahlil.

I did four years in the Air Force and this is my first class.

I'm just here for the experience and the creative expression.

For many veterans, leaving the military also means leaving behind the close bonds they They formed within their unit, but a group of local veterans is finding that sense of belonging again in an unexpected place.

On the ice.

You don't need to be good at hockey.

We're not that good at hockey.

We tell anybody that wants to be part of the program.

We'll teach you how to play.

For some veterans, one of the biggest challenges after military service isn't what they've been through, it's what they've left behind.

Marine Corps Reserves veteran Devin Riccio served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Today he's part of the Flyers Warriors.

It's a feeling of loneliness when you come home.

You're taken away from your community.

You're taken away from your tribe.

So finding this, you find another tribe.

It brings you back to that community.

So it gives you a sense of belonging.

It gives you a place in something bigger than yourself.

It's not about the hockey.

It's really the vehicle to bring people together and be that support system that it's become.

Former Philadelphia Flyer Riley Cote sees a lot of similarities There are many similarities between military service and professional sports.

I think that's what's similar with these veterans is that they were part of a team, much bigger than a sports team, but they had each other's backs, they were one unit.

It might be the most important piece to this life is that you have not just purpose but a community to help you support that purpose.

I think the Warrior Program does exactly that.

It creates the space for guys to gather and be a part of something and then find purpose within that.

Coach and Army veteran Kevin Emore says the Warriors' support extends well beyond the ice.

We started as really a hockey team.

[music] And now we've evolved into kind of we provide mental health support to our players, support for their families, we travel together.

It's become a true community itself.

These guys started out as teammates.

Now they're now they're friends and family.

And the program is growing.

Since 2019, membership has jumped from about 30 players to roughly 170 today.

Air Force veteran Bill Duffy has been with the Flyers Warriors since the beginning.

Today he's the organization's president.

We've all served, so we understand each other.

I never thought I would end up being the president of this organization.

Being in charge and seeing the happiness that this program brings to the men and women, taking the cost out of their hands with equipment and stuff like that, and just seeing the gratitude that they know they can count on us for something is truly special.

Here is the place that I know the camaraderie is helping the vets out.

A simple mission that's satisfying the soul.

More on that to come.

I'm Maiken Scott and this is your wellness update.

I've been reporting on health and mental health for almost 20 years and during that time I've talked to a lot of veterans dealing with all kinds of issues.

Physical injuries, chronic pain, PTSD, anxiety, depression and here's what they've told me about what helped them find a path forward.

Now you may not be missing the military per se but maybe there are some things about the military that are missing from your life.

The number one thing that I always hear about is camaraderie.

Having a group where you feel like you belong.

So whatever you can do to find that group of friends, do that.

Number two, physical fitness.

It's a big part of the military, but it tends to fade away from our lives rather quickly.

Physical fitness is a huge part of your overall health and your mental health.

So get out there, be active in whatever way you can.

Structure.

The military is very regimented.

Your schedule is planned out and that often is lacking from our lives.

So perhaps look into ways in which you can schedule out your days and have places to go.

And finally, service.

Having a sense of purpose.

Being part of something bigger than yourself.

That is a huge part of the military and people miss that.

Research finds that when you're feeling depressed and lonely, the best thing you can do is help somebody else.

So get involved in an organization that does that.

There are many out there that cater to veterans, for example, the Travis Manion Foundation.

So whatever you can do to get involved, to give back to your community will be helpful.

And that is your Wellness Update.

Thanks a lot, Maiken.

And for a local group of veterans, the lessons they learned in the military are finding new purpose around a gaming table.

At a local library, veterans and teenagers are finding common ground through historical battles, fantasy adventures, and a little friendly competition.

Different generations, a shared love of gaming.

- This is a sailing ship game.

So basically you have different levels of structure, how many cannons they are, the actual name of the ship during that time period.

You have cards that dictate what you can do at a certain time.

Let's move forward, forward.

- Oh, forward.

I've never played this one before.

Some of these are historical scenarios too.

So you can learn from that.

Tell us that you really like the people and we have fun playing these games.

People are really nice.

This is really fun.

I was in the Navy.

I started playing a game called Dungeons and Dragons.

There's a lot of people who are veterans and when someone younger comes through, we help them with learning the games, understanding the games.

I'm going to assume I can't shoot there again.

This guy is going to shoot that guy.

Wait, how much damage does A-Box take?

How do I mark it?

Yeah, I actually like to play with the young people.

They bring the fun into the game.

The wind's going this way, so you side-slip.

A lot of times with the younger crowd, when they're new to the game, you know, we don't go as cutthroat as we do when we're playing each other.

We try to make it enjoyable for them too.

But there's more to these games than winning or losing.

For the veterans who organize them, it's also about building connections and passing along a few life lessons.

The overall goal of our organization is to get people to communicate with each other, to have a good time, to show sportsmanship and to mentor a lot of the teens.

For the group's founder, mentorship is nothing new.

I served 13 years in the Marine Reserves and 14 years in the Air Force Reserve.

In the military we mentor all our younger service members.

It just progressed here.

And those lessons in teamwork and looking out for one another are finding their way beyond the gaming table.

You make lifelong friendships.

You learn a lot of different things, not just about yourself and about the games, but about A lot of these games, especially the multiplayer ones, are a lot about teamwork.

That applies a lot, especially in school.

I come to the library a lot to check out books.

And I ran into Bobby one Tuesday, and he invited me to join.

So I did.

It taught me how to fit into a little community.

We're very different.

We came from different backgrounds.

And it taught me how to coexist with the dance.

As being in the military, we always focused on the junior people because we're not always going to be around.

I hope they get a friendship, a good sportsmanship, to have an interaction between every individual that's here.

adults, a teen or child that they have a good experience here and they take it with them wherever they go.

From housing to support and employment, the Veterans Multi-Service Center is a lifeline for area veterans.

See how this organization brought recognition to fallen vets from a Philly high school.

Plus how it's continuing to give purpose to a former Navy sailor turned chef.

Veterans Multi-Service Center has been in existence for over four decades.

It was founded by a group of veterans.

Over the course of those four decades, we've evolved to be the premier nonprofit serving the needs of the most vulnerable of our veterans population.

Those at or near the poverty line.

We're focused on veterans homelessness and veterans hunger.

The homelessness is tackled through a number of programs, most notably in our most recent project Edison 64 Veterans Community Building.

Thankfully there was political will and there was financial wherewithal brought to the project in terms of federal dollars and donations to bring about the rehabilitation and renewal of the abandoned Edison High School.

This high school's history is pretty tragic.

It suffered the most loss of life combat casualties in Vietnam of any high school in the United States of America.

There are many war memorials throughout this country and rightfully so, but this is the first and only living memorial to the 64 young men from Edison High School who gave their lives in Vietnam.

So Veterans Multi-Service Center leads the effort in providing supportive services for the 66 tenants that call this home.

This is a veterans preference building.

75% of those residents residing in Edison 64 are veterans that have serve their nation.

However, there are other folks that are part of this community here in North Philadelphia that makes it rich and robust.

But at the end of the day, Edison is a housing complex for veterans.

While predominantly individuals reside in the units, we do have some families that operate here because Veterans Multi-Service Center does not just take care As the Director of the Veteran, we also look out for spouses and dependents over the length and breadth of our mission.

In short, there is no other building like this in the region that provides all the services that a tenant would require leaving the building.

VMC makes sure our veterans here have access to all those programs that are both health and wellness focused and life enriching.

We're building a community here for our veterans.

I was connected from the city of Philadelphia, the Office of Homeland Services, in what I know to be supportive housing.

And the offering allowed me to come here, knowing about Edison 64 historically and all the Vietnam veterans that were killed, unfortunately.

And I realized that this is a part of Philadelphia's history.

And it gives me a grounding as to what war was all about and the dedication of people who have served our country and have served them proudly.

What we hope is that Edison is a beacon for veterans.

Those folks living a hardscrabble life, those folks living in shelters, that there is something better for them.

But ultimately, we hope to be able to replicate this success story throughout PA, New Jersey, and Delaware.

Our veterans sacrificed so much for this nation.

They need to be able to live in dignity.

They need to be able to live in safety.

And they need to be able to live in community.

And that's what Edison provides for its residents.

You served your country.

The last thing you need to do is to be sleeping on the street and begging.

Here is the place that I know the camaraderie is helping the vets out.

Being here in a safe environment, eating decent food.

I left home at a really young age and then when I was 19 years old, I realized that I had to do something with my life.

And so I joined the Navy.

And then when I got out, I wasn't really prepared for life.

And personal things that happened to me when I was in the Navy is the reason why I have PTSD.

And I was depressed and lonely at the time, so there was a lot of drugs around.

And then it became an addiction.

I was in a relationship with somebody, and we had a child.

And that moment, I realized that I had to get my life together.

So I found about the VMC.

They helped me out and then they offered me a job.

They gave me a job as a peer navigator.

I was also a driver, so I found it good because I could help others.

And then COVID-19 came and we lost one of our cooks and another guy was in there temporarily.

He was a volunteer and I saw that he needed help.

So I jumped in and helped him out.

So they offered me the job to work with another person in the kitchen.

I learned different techniques from different restaurants I worked at and then I applied it to my work here.

And then eventually I became the only person in the kitchen.

They gave me a lot of responsibilities which I thought was a great idea for me and then I created different meals the best I can with what we have to serve our veterans.

And I'm very proud of that.

We serve breakfast and lunch five days a week, Monday to Friday.

But those two meals are very important to these guys.

So I have to make sure that whatever I'm creating is stuff that I can repeat.

I try to time everything so that I can get a nice flow so that people don't have to wait too long to get their meal.

and wanted to make sure they were fed well, and they were given choices.

So the menus took time to evolve, because a lot of it was just simple, get it out the door stuff, and then that's how I think, okay, what can I do to make it a little bit better?

For me, I like the challenge.

It's a good little extra to give them something more than just simple sandwiches.

And think about what I would like sometimes, And what I think that other people might like.

Sometimes I get it right, sometimes I don't get it right.

But at least I try.

And I do get thank yous, and I do get people complimenting the meals, so that makes me feel good.

I don't try to force myself on people.

But if somebody came up to me and they needed help, I'm there.

And when I don't see a face, sometimes it's not a bad news.

It just means they moved on to something better.

They're on a path that's going to a direction That's positive.

Our organization has done such a great job to help a lot of these veterans.

You may not get everything in life, but you'll get something and you can make that work.

If you try.

This place has given me the stability that I needed.

And I've been here 10 years.

So I feel proud of what I'm doing.

Veterans Day falls on a Wednesday this year and that happens to be one of the days you can visit the Air Mobility Command Museum in Dover, Delaware.

My name is Michael Hurlburt.

I'm the operations manager here at the AMC Museum.

I served in the U.S.

Air Force from 1994 up until 2017.

The Air Mobility Command Museum, we specialize in mobility, airlift, tankers, air medical evacuation and humanitarian relief efforts.

Our museum is 100% free, free parking, free admission.

We have aircraft from World War II, Korean War, from Vietnam, all the way up until the most recent C-5, which is serving still in the global war on terrorism.

We operate with a total of three staff members but over a hundred volunteers that donate more than 3,000 hours a month of their time and we just could not do without them.

My name is Don Hall I served 1963 in the Air Force to 1969.

My name is David Doyle.

I served under 10 presidents while in the Air Force.

I'm Mike Phillips.

I served in the United States Air Force from 1969 to 1989.

My name is Paul George.

I served in the Army in 1961 to '64.

My name is Bob Bourbonet, Bourbon with an A on the end of it.

I spent 20 years in the Navy as a Navy pilot from 1964 to 1985.

My name is Chuck Lyon.

I was in service for 20 years and four months.

[music playing] They bring an individual experience, each and every one of them.

And they share their stories with our visitors, and it's just priceless.

I work as a volunteer tour guide, and I work in restoration.

My father served in World War II.

Three days after D-Day, that plane, the C-47, landed on a makeshift field behind Omaha Beach to remove 24 wounded back to England.

My father landed on Omaha on D-Day plus one.

This is a unique museum.

I enjoy the people who work here.

Some of these airplanes I actually flew on.

I started with the museum 20 years ago.

There's a couple other airplanes in the group on the ramp that I had flown while I was in service.

I love coming here because of the history.

I love the people that come in here because most of them have served so it's the sharing of history with people that are very interested.

One of the things is to honor prior veterans and current service people.

It's so important that they understand what that generation gave.

My father was four years away from home.

Like to have an appreciation for the people that came before us.

I know a lot of people walk out of here I think with a real appreciation for the ingenuity, the talent of the American people.

That's what we need to do, remember the history that preceded us.

When you tell them some of the things they don't know, you hear wow, I never knew that.

And that's what I like to hear.

(upbeat music) - And that is our show.

We here at WHYY would like to thank all of our veterans and their families for all you've done and are doing.

Good night, everyone.

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