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This Memorial Day, WE RISE and Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health’s Veteran Peer Access Network (VPAN) honor those who have lost their lives by building a more connected world. We envision a world where every service member, veteran and family member can find and access the wealth of supportive services through VPAN, enabling them to live and thrive in our community through connection, engagement, creative expression and art.

For the past ten years, Brooklyn-based artist Jennifer Karady has worked with American veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to create Soldiers’ Stories from Iraq and Afghanistan, staged narrative photographs that depict both their individual stories and reveal their difficulties in adjusting to civilian life. The film takes the viewer through the multi-layered process of collaborating with Lucero Morales in Azusa, CA, to create a photograph showing the trajectory of the process, from initial interviews to Lucero’s reaction to and thoughts about the final photograph nine months later. We encourage you to watch this powerful, 17-minute film prior to the panel. More information on how to view the film here.

Join us for WE RISE’s Memorial Day virtual panel discussion that will start with a special remembrance of our fallen heroes and a discussion about their own lived experiences and return to home from the battlefield in the context of Karady’s dynamic and moving work.

Watch live: http://bit.ly/WERISELA