This is my Ibanez parlor guitar. I don't have a name for it yet but once I can complete a full song without error, I will name it. I got it sometime last year when I had enrolled in a Veterans Affairs (VA) mental health program called Guitars 4 Vets. The nationwide program is found only at certain VA clinics and its main focus it to help veterans cope with PTSD. Guitars 4 Vets offers a free 10 week course for beginners or experienced guitar players. At the end of the course, the veteran graduates and receives a free guitar and gear kit.
The course I attended was held at the Temple VA and was scheduled for 8 weeks. Instead of taking one on one lessons, I opted for group lessons so I could learn from other veterans as well. The group consisted of 4 to 5 other veterans who had all joined the program for the same reason as me. We had so much in common that I looked forward to that hour long drive just for that one hour lesson every Sunday for 8 weeks. After the 8 weeks, we had a small informal graduation and instead of celebrating, we decided to keep it going. I didn't get a free guitar but I didn't mind buying my own. The lessons went on for another 8 weeks until the Temple VA decided to cancel the program.
It's unfortunate that the VA felt the program was not important enough to keep it going. I know it helped the 5 of us. I can only imagine how many more vets it has helped across the U.S. Not only did I learn that I can actually learn an instrument but also that I am not alone in what I am going through. We all had a list of songs that we aimed at learning that upon arrival we would each play a small portion of what we had learned for the others to guess. And we would also share a little of what the song meant to us. This gave us something to look forward to. When I pick it up now and then, I am instantly taken back to that feeling of gratitude and brotherhood I felt with that group.