Editor’s note: The sharing of any non-VA information does not constitute an endorsement of products and services on the part of VA. Veterans should verify the information with the organization offering.
VA Secretary Denis McDonough spoke to Veteran gamers at the Warrior GMR Mental Health and Gaming Summit July 12 in Washington, D.C. The summit was held in-person at Howard University’s Blackburn Center and streamed on Twitch and Discord. The summit represented a unique opportunity for participants to engage with the latest initiatives in mental health and gaming culture.
“The Warrior GMR Foundation was created with a unique vision to craft a platform where gamers, service members, and military Veterans could engage in purposeful play and meaningful interactions that inspire improved mental health resilience,” said Josh Otero, founder and chairman of Warrior GMR.
The summit hosted insightful panels with leading gaming experts and included topics such as “Gaming for Wellness and Resilience,” “From Virtual Healing to Mission Readiness” and “United Front: From Battlefield to Mindful Engagement.”
During the event, VA Secretary McDonough underscored how VA works for Veterans and how it’s adapting to meet their needs.
“We need to change VA to fit in Veterans’ lives,” McDonough said. “We know that 75% of all households have a gamer, 45% of service members are gamers, and being invited into your gaming spaces allows VA to fight for you where you are at. Taking care of you is VA’s sacred obligation, to connect you with the benefits you earned and richly deserve. Bottom line, Veterans who get their health care at VA have better health care outcomes. Like gaming, we believe keeping score is important and one way we do this is through our trust score. We are proud to say that over the past 10 years, Veterans’ trust in VA has increased from 80% to 91.8%. This is important as we focus on mental health, being there for you in crisis and beyond.”
Veterans game together and virtual bonds are formed
Through Veteran gaming network Discord channels, VA staff routinely share VA information and answer questions with Veterans.
“The Warrior GMR Foundation hosts Warrior Wednesdays, where a representative from VA hosts a live townhall session to answer questions Veterans have and bring guests from various departments to explore the benefits VA has to offer,” said Otero.
Beyond Wednesdays, Marine Corps Veteran, gamer and VA expert Donnie Freyberger is available to answer questions and make connections.
During the Summit, VA also shared exciting tech-friendly solutions for Veterans and beyond, including:
- Future VA-hosted gaming tournaments.
- VR gaming integration into physical, occupational and recreational therapy.
- VA’s use of immersive technology to help Veterans with PTSD, anxiety, depression, acute and chronic pain, insomnia and more.
While Veterans learned about VA resources and mental health resiliency at the event, they also had the opportunity to lean into their warrior ethos with skill-building workshops and competitive play as they battled one another on the gaming warfront.
VA shares online events and even computer giveaways from Veteran gaming networks in the VetResources newsletter. Sign up to receive VetResources or check out archived issues.
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I consider this an excellent idea.
For vets who are made of money…
How do I find out more about this without any social media accounts?
Found out about the veteran gaming streaming channels a few months past from a previous VA newsletter. Went to BrickByBrickVets Twitch page and have rarely missed a stream since. Thoroughly enjoy watching and learning from Justin and Pat, plus conversing with everyone in the chat. Spending the last year in bed recovering from two major back surgeries had officially started taking its mental toll. Its sad when you do so much for others, can physically no longer help or become a burden for you to tag along, the calls and texts stop. Luckily, I saw BrickByBrickVets being mentioned in the newsletter and has greatly improved my mental wellbeing. I really appreciated Justin, Pat, and the VA’s supporting this platform.
This is something that a lot of veterans do to cope with transition, returning home, PTSD, anxiety, and a million other reasons. Mainly to feel like an inclusive part of a team again. To feel wanted or needed. Even though you have ten kids, a loving wife, and a stable job, what is missing is… Your battle buddy. The guy from the cubicle world doesn’t know what you’ve been through, and the hundreds of people who have never served a day in their life say, “If you need someone to speak with…” Yeah, like, WTF are you going to relate to my experiences?
Gaming, however, is an outlet. Ninety percent of the time, you find or hook up with other veterans who have experienced what you have. They have the same issues, especially with the VA, and can share information about pharmacies and doctors. Sometimes, you just have someone to speak to who understands what you’ve been through because they were there, too.
I hope they put some money behind this program and use people that are veterans.
Mconniff#1247
Sounds awesome
Pretty good article, interested in knowing who put it together. White people are not willing to change. Everything was good about this article until the gaming section and there is a section with a black gentleman and behind his head theirs logo with monkey buble. I don’t give a damn if it wasn’t meant that way it’s the optics. Fix your hearts and minds white america, stop associating Black People with anything remotely concerning monies. I will be sure to collect photos of this and add to FB. and many other platforms it’s subtle but it’s still there.
Not to be negative or to argue but you do understand that only you view it that way. This shows you are not a gamer but in fact someone who is uneducated in the culture of gaming and failed to understand that in fact there is no association in the negative aspect of monkeys and the male being of the black community in that image.
Let me educate you so that you do not feel so offended based on knowledge you fail to have or failed to understand by simply looking it up.
Monkey Bubble is actually a esports event specialty agency that is worldwide. Their goal is working with gaming companies, communities and social groups to bring esports communities to life. It’s a platform that allows people to watch esports events and see those of the gaming industry that play professionally to show off their skills and personality showcased, which helps them to get sponsored. They host many different views of different games in terms of tournaments like overwatch, Legue of legends, even the popular ESports invitational for allied forces in which our armed forces that have a team for esports, plays against other allied forces’s gaming team.
So before you accuse white people “of not willing to change” please educate yourself on the topic and understand the day and age we are in, in terms of gaming. Gamers don’t see color… we see people who make life long friendships with people around the world, a social community of people who have common interests and even people who find love through gaming. It’s a safe haven for those going through a hard time.
Also, that man that you see in the image is more then likely a twitch/kick streamer who does this for a living. HE sets up his screen to showcase the companies HE is sponsored by or that HE supports. So that man, is not putting that logo on his stream as a way to insult people of his community or culture… it’s just to make sure he also gets paid and spreads the word about them.
I will end this with a note since I know that based on your reaction to this article I will assume you will make the attempt to say that “I am white and I am just trying to defend the white people” or something along those lines, in which you are wrong. I am of the Hispanic community and support all people regardless of the color of their skin, sexual preference, or their interests.
And should you not believe anything I said about that company, here is their site so you may educate yourself better and potentially educate those around you, so you can see that you are the only one who saw something that wasn’t there and attempted to make it look like a bad thing. Along with all sponsors that are listed in that man’s image.
Monkey Bubble: https://monkeybubble.gg/
Warrior GMR Foundation: https://warriorgmrfoundation.org/
AG associates: https://a-gassociates.com/
Huh.. video games for vets.. now I have seen everything.
I was on a game that asked me to join DISCORD, I did not find it tasteful. Not only did they ask for personal info but I was inundated with excessive E-mails. I do not trust DISCORD! By the way the game was FOE.
How can I get a free gaming console?
You have got to be kidding me.