| Recipient: | Veterans Emergency Transition Services (VETS) Canada |
|---|---|
| Project: | Guitars for Vets |
| Province: | Nova Scotia |
| Period: | 1 April 2021 - 31 March 2023 |
| Funding: | $500,000 |
Overview:
Veterans Emergency Transition Services (VETS) Canada used funding from The Veteran and Family Well-Being Program to offer the Guitars for Vets program to Veterans experiencing service-related mental health conditions.
Project goals:
The project goals were to provide guitars and 10 guitar lessons to Veterans in a peer-supported environment to help improve the overall mental well-being, decrease social isolation, and encourage and improve socialization among Veterans who are struggling with their mental health.
Project activities:
The project activities included:
- Providing Guitars for Vets participants with a guitar (at no cost) and access to 10 free guitar lessons either in-person or virtual and in group or one-on-one format;
- Coordinating guitar lessons by matching participants to a suitable instructor; and
- Evaluating the efficacy of the program by administering post program surveys to participants.
Project results:
During the course of the project 1466 Veterans enrolled in the Guitars for Vets program and 1122 guitars were distributed to Veteran students. All of the participants that completed the satisfaction surveys reported an improvement to their overall mental well-being.