War vets, some with PTSD, finding peace in picking up a guitar
ST. LOUIS -- Every Monday night, a group of friends in St. Louis pick up their guitars and play -- in an auditorium, in hallways, and even in a bowling alley.
Tender Lewis has been coming for two years. He said, “For me it's like an emotional thing. It just can calm me down."
“I went from being suicidal to loving life
again,” she added. “It's done a lot of good things for me."
Lewis said, “The medication I was taking I hardly have to use any more.”
She attributes that to this program.
Joe Oberender served two tours in Iraq
where he found and cleared roadside bombs. He said of the program, “I always
tell people there's much more that we're doing here than playing guitar."
Now he's making a difference again.
He's a volunteer teacher for Six String Heroes at the St. Louis VA hospital. So
far, more than 200 veterans have come through the eight-week program. Most had
never picked up a guitar before coming.
Faries said, “I challenge anyone to pick up a guitar and learn at least two songs and tell me it doesn't do something positive for you.”
Oberender added, “Music lets you speak in ways that words can't and maybe that's part of what's helping people out here.”
Through music and friendship, these veterans of war are finding peace.
