Wednesday, February 13, 2013

TRR Blog is moving!!!

TRR has moved its Blog from Blogger to our website - as of March 1st. Please join us at:


www.traumaandresiliencyresources.org

Movie Screening

TRR Movie Screening 

Come join us at the Soho Apple Store on February 26th at 7pm for the

NY Screening of "Sgt. Balm" trailer - an Equine Assisted 

Psychotherapy session with a warrior.


http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=0ce049d1eac7019fb1fd471b8&id=76b6001b1b

Monday, August 27, 2012

Joshua Casteel The Final Battle


By Eva Usadi



It is with deep sadness that we mourn the loss of Joshua Casteel, 32, of Cedar Rapids, IA. Joshua died on August 25th in New York City, where he was receiving experimental treatment for cancer. He had been diagnosed in November 2011 with Stage IV lung cancer that was also present in his liver, spine and adrenal glands. Joshua believed his illness was a result of his service in Iraq where he was exposed to toxic fumes from burn pits. He had filed a claim for compensation with the Veterans Administration.

Joshua enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves at the age of 17. He received a 4-year ROTC scholarship and an appointment to West Point. He went to boot camp at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri in 1997. 

He then served with the Army's 202nd Military Intelligence Battalion as an Arabic translator and U.S. Army interrogator inside the prison at Abu Ghraib from June 2004 to January 2005. It was during that time that he became aware of a conflict between his upbringing as an Evangelical Christian, and his duties as a soldier. Returning home, Joshua became one of the first OEF/OIF warriors to apply for status as a Conscientious Objector. His application was granted and he was honorably discharged from the Army in May of 2005. His story is featured in the award-winning  documentary, Soldiers of Conscience.



Joshua earned a B.A. in Literature, Science and Arts in 2002. He then earned a dual M.F.A in Playwriting and Non-Fiction Writing from the University of Iowa in 2008. He received a Fellowship in Graduate Arts Management at the University of Chicago prior to his diagnosis. 

Joshua was an invited speaker at over 50 worldwide gatherings. In 2006, Joshua appeared on the stage of the Royal Court Theatre for Human Rights Watch’s Cries From the Heart performing a monologue from his play Returns, which premiered at the University of Iowa in February 2007, and then at Columbia College in Chicago. Some of Joshua’s essays on war and Christian ethics have become part of course curricula at Wheaton College and Duke Divinity School. He was also featured in the documentary film, Iraq for SaleJoshua was an accomplished author who published a book from writings he sent home while deployed, Letters from Abu Ghraib, in 2008. He was  active with Warrior Writers and had been a board member of  IVAW.

I had the great privilege of speaking with Joshua after he testified in New York City at the Truth Commission hearings at Riverside Church, in 2010. 



Joshua was a bright and shining star, with wisdom far beyond his years. I will remember him fondly, as a warrior who fought battles on many fronts, always with grace, eloquence, and great compassion.  

Gone too soon. In our hearts forever.


Remembrances to the Casteel family:
285 34th Street SE
Cedar Rapids, IA 52403

Funeral services are being arranged. For updates, visit Joshuacasteel.com






Friday, June 1, 2012

Help NYC's Carriage Horses








The Problem: Horse-Drawn Carriages

reprinted with permission


The harsh reality of the life of a carriage horse working in New York City is no laughing matter.

They routinely work at least 9 hours a day, pulling a vehicle that weighs hundreds of pounds, on hard pavement, while breathing exhaust from cars, buses and taxis. Unaccustomed to the urban environment, horses can be "spooked" easily and cause accidents that inflict great damage on vehicles, drivers and most often, the horses themselves. There were six accidents in the Summer and Fall months of 2011 alone. 
At the end of the day the horses return to their tiny stalls in stableson the far West side of the city, or as Jon Stewart once called it, "The sad-eyed horse carriage district." The cramped space doesn't allow these enormous animals to lie down or to move about freely. Nor are they afforded any turn-out or pasture time that equine veterinarians agree is needed for horses to live healthy lives.
After they work the busy and unsafe streets of NYC, the carraige horses are sent to auctions in Pennsylvania where they can be - and are - sold to kill-buyers who transport the animals to Mexico or Canada to be inhumanely slaughtered for exported meat. 

New York City has the highest horse-drawn carriage accident rate in the country



November 3, 2010
A New York City bus hit a horse during rush hour. The carriage horse was grazed by the bus on 7th Avenue, at around 54th street. A witness says the horse "was spooked and evidently frightened out of his/her wits.

September 19, 2009:
A cab plowed into a horse-drawn carriage near Central Park. Both drivers were taken to the hospital.

September 14, 2007:
A horse that was spooked by a street performer's drum ran nearly a block along the sidewalk before slamming into a tree, collapsing and dying. The horse's panicking caused a second horse - which was still attached to a carriage- to dart into traffic and collide with a car.

June 2, 2007:
A spooked horse which was pulling a carriage was hit by an SUV at an intersection after the horse galloped away from his driver. When the horse fell, the carriage broke loose, was propelled into the air, and landed on the curb, barely missing pedestrians.

April 28, 2006:
A young horse being trained to pull carriages became spooked and bolted, colliding with, and critically injuring an elderly bicyclist in Central Park.
January 3, 2006:
A horse got spooked and galloped into a station wagon on Ninth Avenue and 50th Street on his way back to the stable. The carriage driver was hospitalized in critical condition with a fractured skull. The horse was pinned under a car for half an hour and later died.

Public Safety Concerns

Horse carriages are dangerous to passengers, carriage drivers and others who use New York streets. Horses spooked by loud noises on busy streets have bolted into traffic, sending coachmen and other drivers to the hospital, and leading to the horse’s death.
In addition to the immediate safety risks caused by horse carriages, jagged ruts made by carriage wheels are dangerous for cyclists, runners and pedi-cabs using the areas in and around Central Park. The horses are also exposed to conditions that present a danger to their wellbeing, causing dehydration, permanent injury and even death.

Traffic Congestion

Slow moving carriages hold up traffic on already over-crowded streets, causing back-ups and blocking busy streets. Accidents, big or small, caused by the horse carriages can delay drivers for hours. This traffic congestion is not only frustrating for drivers; the idling cars also increase the amount of car exhaust in the air, polluting the air we breathe and accelerating global warming.

Poor Sanitation

The areas where the carriages line up to wait for customers have an unpleasant odor that disturbs nearby residents and visitors. Carriage drivers often do not clean up after the horses, leaving waste and rotting debris in New York’s streets. Even, worse, city health officials must regularly monitor the horses for diseases that could be transmitted to other animals and even to the human population.

Lack of Economic Benefits for New York City

The horse carriage industry is a cash only business which does not use meters. Carriage drivers routinely charge residents and tourists rates above what they are legally entitled to charge. The lack of any financial accountability controls creates a vacuum of potential revenue for the City. At the same time, the City annually spends hundreds of thousands of dollars to monitor the horses, and repair roadways damaged by the carriages. The status quo presents a losing situation for New York City.

http://youtu.be/yW1ckFpJ8xQ

Sunday, May 27, 2012

ON MEMORIAL DAY



On This Day As We Honor Those Who Gave Their 

Their Lives in Battle


Remember Them
Remember Their Families






Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Imagine triggers no longer triggering
Guest Blog: reprinted with permission

January 30, 2010 By Deirdre Fay





I know that feels like a bit of a stretch:  PTSD triggers not making life unbearable for hours and days on end?  Wow.  Could that really be true?

Yes.  Yes, it’s true, it’s possible.

We do not have to feel stuck, helpless in our negative triggered responses.

We start making the shift when begin to see triggers as messages calling for our attention, not “the truth” about what is happening now.  The nature of  triggers is that they are loaded with a lot of charge, they feel electrified with power, they reach out and grab us.   In an instant our bodies are caught and plugged into terror, horror, anxiety, distress… there are many names for that.

So, how, I know you are asking, how do we shift this crazy pattern?

1.  Naming the pattern:

When your reaction is out of proportion to the event in front of you it is almost certain that the reaction you are having is not about the current moment.   Sometimes just naming it helps:  “I’m triggered.  I’m triggered.”   Stay away from the content of the trigger and keep focusing on naming it for what it is — you’re triggered.

2.  Separate the trigger from you:

What that automatically does – but needs endless repetition – is separate out the trigger from you.  Something is happening to you but you are not that blow apart  or numbed out experience which is exploding in your body.  This provides a slow and steady effect of helping you dis-identify from the symptom:  You are not the anxiety that is coursing through you.

3.  Listening without agenda:

Engage with the anxiety/terror/distress/unease and ask it to slow down/give you some room so that you can listen to it.  It’s important not to be doing this in the attempt to fix it, change it, get rid of it!!!  Yes, that might be an ulterior motive, but the more neutral you can stay, the better off you will be.  Having a healthy curiousity will make a world of difference.

4.  Now that you’re slowed down a bit:

At this point in the process your body might have slowed do so much and taken such effort and concentration that you might want to take a break!  Understandable.  And that is fine.  This might be exactly where you want to stop.

Sometimes this is the perfect thing to do – retrain your body and your mind and your nervous system to not be so automatic in response to your triggers.  We can, in fact, learn to harness that energy that gets triggered inside and work with it rather then being dominated by it.

That’s the goal of the Becoming Safely Embodied Basic Skills Course that will be coming out in the next six months.  If you’re interested in more information click here to put your name on the list and I’ll keep you posted!

http://dfay.com/archives/34