By Mary O’KEEFE

On May 17, Wellness Works held a ribbon cutting to announce its expanded service projects. Wellness Works may sound familiar; its home is in Glendale and it has been around for over 30 years. It began as a service organization to help those with HIV and AIDS, and served that community for years. But after 9/11, with troops returning home, it was became apparent there was a need for services that specialized in helping military veterans.

“Wellness Works engages the community in restoring hope and providing wholeness of body and soul to veterans and their families,” said Camille Levee, vice president, board of directors Wellness Works. “It isn’t just mental health and mental health groups, it is a variety of modalities.”

The organization offers help that covers the entire body, not just traditional diagnostic health care, but also a comprehensive continuum of mind, body and soul. It offers programs like Wellness Works Writers’ Group that allows veterans and their families to use writing as a way to share their stories. It also offers art therapy, massage and acupuncture to name just a few programs.

“The Story Tellers” is a book from the writers’ group that has been published and can be purchased online at sites like Amazon.

“We work to restore the body and the mind into balance,” Levee said. “We can [offer] all the resources of housing and jobs [to veterans] but if the body and the mind are not in sync, it’s not going to work.”

Wellness Works personnel decided to focus on helping veterans when they heard some disturbing statistics.

“We found there are 22 veteran suicides every day in the U.S. [Not a lot] of people know that. Our goal is to raise that awareness. It isn’t just the homeless on the street, it isn’t just getting them a job – we have to do a lot more or we will continue to contribute to 22 suicides a day,” she said.

One of its biggest fundraisers is “Not On Our Watch.” This year will be the fourth annual fundraiser and will be held Sept. 12-15 on the Verdugo Bridge that is between Glendale Community College and Verdugo Park. The event has veteran participants walking the bridge during the three-day fundraiser. The participants will wear dog tags and, at the end of the walk, those tags will then be placed on a battlefield cross.

All are welcome to stand vigil as the veterans walk. There will be several booths in addition that provide information on services for veterans.

The day before the ribbon cutting, Wellness Works and the Verdugo Job Center were awarded a grant that will help them support 75 veterans in finding jobs. Both organizations work closely with Veterans Village in Glendale and the barracks at Burbank, which both provide housing facilities for veterans.

Wellness Works receives support from many different areas – from local doctors and dentists to Dignity Health, a significant funder. It has also found that there is an increase in college students who are veterans in need of support and Wellness Works is working with them as well.

However, at the center of Wellness Works is the whole health of veterans. To see this, one just has to visit the organization’s office. It is a home with a peaceful garden in the back. Sitting in the backyard one only hears the sound of the water fountain. It is a place designed for quiet meditation and reflection that, in a world of Veterans Administration paperwork and memories of conflict, is something all veterans can appreciate.

To pledge a donation or for more information on Wellness Works, visit wellnessworksglendale.org or call (818) 247-2062. Wellness Works’ home is located at 240 W. Broadway, Glendale 912104.

  Mary Okeefe