AWI Sanctuary Space presents: PTSD and Me
An ongoing Continued Connections program that creates virtual spaces for students to connect at the intersection of art and mental health.
For this Sanctuary Space, join us as we explore ways we can continually heal ourselves with the help of poetry and creative writing. We’ll be joined by special guest facilitator Erika Renee Land, a PTSD-awareness advocate, an American 21st-century war poet, and 2021 MacDowell Fellow. Together we’ll watch and discuss short films centered around mental health experiences and take part in a collective creative writing activity.
Featured National Resources:
Crisis Text Line
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Trans Lifeline
The Trevor Project
Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective (BEAM)
Black Mental Health Alliance
Art With Impact Resources:
5 Powerful Quotes about PTSD
About Trauma & PTSD
Today’s Special Guest: Erika Renee Land:
Website
Instagram
Watch stage play “PTSD and Me” from 2021
About Erika Renee Land:
Erika Renee Land studied English with a focus in creative writing at the University of Georgia but left in her last semester because of her battle with PTSD. Posttraumatic stress disorder has been Erika’s nemesis since 2005, when she was deployed to Mosul, Iraq.
In 2012 she decided she needed to help herself heal and began writing. Currently she has published poetry books, fiction novels, music and poetry albums, and a stage play. Her struggle with PTSD has been featured on the Texas Public Radio program Worth Repeating and Veteran Affairs Borne the Battle and numerous podcasts. Currently, she travels the country in a RV, performs spoken word wherever she can, educates about PTSD and gives out hugs.