Spearheaded by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, National PTSD Awareness Month has been commemorated every June since 2014. Echoing the Department’s focus on connecting veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to effective treatments and support networks, POV has created a number of free resources to help foster open dialogue around PTSD and traumatic stress in your community, using Of Men and War as a framework for conversation:

  1. Screen Of Men and War at your local library or community center. As a part of our mission, we lend out POV films for free for community and classroom screenings and staff trainings. The Of Men and War Partner Toolkit has everything you need to host a successful screening, including promotional materials, audience surveys and a step-by-step guide to hosting a screening.
  2. Bring the conversation into the classroom. The U.S. has been at war in Iraq and Afghanistan for almost the entire lives of students in high school or college today. The Of Men and War lesson plan is designed to help students develop a critical awareness of the sources of our ideas about war and what it’s like to be a service member who went to war. This lesson is intended for grade levels 10-12 and college.
  3. Provide space for open discussion around traumatic stress. Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, affects almost 30 percent of the 834,467 Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans treated through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The Of Men and War discussion guide includes information on the in-patient treatment center featured in the film and the impact of war on service members and their families, as well as prompts for discussion and a list of action steps and resources. This guide is an invitation to dialogue. Instead of fostering debates in which participants try to convince others that they are right, this document envisions conversations undertaken in a spirit of openness in which people try to understand one another and expand their thinking by sharing viewpoints and listening actively.

Have an idea and looking for resources? Follow us on Twitter @povengage and tweet us your idea.

Visit our local events calendar for a full list of events happening across the country and join our Community Network to host a screening of your own!

Published by

POV Staff
POV Staff
POV (a cinema term for "point of view") is television's longest-running showcase for independent non-fiction films. POV premieres 14-16 of the best, boldest and most innovative programs every year on PBS. Since 1988, POV has presented over 400 films to public television audiences across the country. POV films are known for their intimacy, their unforgettable storytelling and their timeliness, putting a human face on contemporary social issues.