Veterans’ Acupuncture Benefit Event

Please join us in Cambridge and Hingham for an evening of community-style acupuncture to benefit the Veterans Community Acupuncture Project (VCAP). VCAP provides free acupuncture treatment to veterans to help with pain, stress, anxiety, and other problems related to their service.

Drop in any time from 5:30 to 7:30, make a donation to VCAP, and receive a stress-relieving community style acupuncture treatment. This is a great way to check out acupuncture, get a relaxing treatment, and help the veterans in your community, all at once.

Community Style Acupuncture will consist of:

• Acupuncture needles on ears only
• 30 – 45 minute treatment
• Done in a group
• All needles are pre-packaged, sterile, and disposed of after use.
• treatment is designed to reduce stress and anxiety, help with insomnia and pain, and provide a general sense of well-being.

This style of acupuncture has been used to help over 7000 New Orleans residents and relief workers, and is currently being offered around the country to help veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Your donation will help this work continue.

When: Monday, March 16, 2009, 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Where: Cambridge Health Associates, 335 Broadway (between Central and Inman Squares)
And: The Lane Center, 160 Old Derby Road, Suite 457, Hingham
Suggested donation for treatment: $10-20, or whatever you can!
Contact: Marilyn Yohe, Licensed Acupuncturist, 617-354-2274

I hope to see you there!

Boston Veterans Community Acupuncture Project

The Veterans Community Acupuncture Project offers free weekly acupuncture for veterans. Acupuncture can treat pain, stiffness, headaches, insomnia, digestive problems, anxiety and many other issues. It is also extremely relaxing!

Treatment is done in a community-style format, which consists of:

• treatment is done in a group, seated in chairs
• acupuncture needles on ears only
• treatment lasts 20-45 minutes (you decide how long you want to stay)
• uses sterilized, single-use disposable needles only
• needles are tiny (about the width of a hair) and virtually painless
• all volunteers are professional acupuncturists licensed by the Massachusetts state medical board

All veterans are welcome to attend. Please feel free to bring a friend or family member to join us for a treatment.

Our services are strictly confidential. We are an independent group of volunteers, not affiliated with any government agency or veterans’ group, and do not share records with any other organizations or individuals.

A recent study funded by the Department of Defense on using acupuncture with veterans to relieve stress and improve quality of life showed extremely positive results. We have already treated many veterans during our pilot project earlier this year, and got very positive comments from people who attended.

Our program is now offered on Tuesday evenings, and will resume in February at the First Parish UU Church in Harvard Square. Please check back here for start date and exact time; details coming soon!

For more information on the program, call Pathways to Wellness at 617-859-3036  x24.

If you would like to support this effort, we need to raise about $5000 to cover the cost of supplies for one year of the program. You can make a tax-deductible contribution at http://www.firstgiving.com/veteransacupuncture. Thank you!

Free Acupuncture for Veterans

I am excited to be a part of a new program to help veterans returning from Iraq and Afganistan. Two Boston-area clinics, in Arlington and Boston, will provide free community-style acupuncture treatments for veterans and their families and caregivers.  Similar clinics are beginning in locations across the country.  The programs are inspired by Acupuncturists Without Borders’ nationwide effort to respond to the stress and trauma experienced by veterans returning from war. I will be volunteering as an acupuncturist and doing outreach and organizing for the project.This program will be open to veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as veterans from other wars or conflicts. Some clinics may also offer treatment to close family members, who are also affected.  The Arlington, MA clinic is open for clients (contact number below); the Boston clinic is expected to open in the next several months. Watch this blog for updates!

Community acupuncture is a simple but powerful approach to treating stress and trauma. Treatments are done in a group, seated and clothed, and consist of needles on the ears only. This style of treatment was used for AWB’s programs in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and was very well-received. Participants reported that it helped with anxiety, depression and insomnia; many others found relief from physical ailments as well. The feedback from an AWB pilot program for Veterans in Albequerque has also been very positive and encouraging.

To learn more about the veterans’ program (including an up-to-date listing of clinic sites around the country), how acupuncture can help with post-traumatic stress, and AWB’s work with Hurricane Katrina survivors, visit www.acuwithoutborders.org.  For information on the Arlington, MA clinic, call 617-849-4928.