Veterans Get a Bit of Water Therapy with Community Boathouse
By Katie McFadden
A day on the water is good for the soul. Veterans from the Brooklyn Veterans Affairs Center got a day of recreational therapy on Jamaica Bay on Friday, August 23, thanks to Rockaway’s Community Boathouse.
On Friday, the Community Boathouse welcomed about a dozen veterans to Vernam Barbadoes Preserve off of Amstel Boulevard in Arverne, for an opportunity to try kayaking, many for the first time. The opportunity was made possible after two recreational therapists, Lydia and Victoria, who work at the Brooklyn VA, got to try kayaking with the Community Boathouse last summer, out of their usual location, Bay Breeze Park on Beach 88th Street, which is under renovation. They had such a great experience that they wanted to share it with their veterans who utilize the services, including recreational programming, out of the Brooklyn VA.
The Community Boathouse is a nonprofit program that provides free kayaking opportunities around Jamaica Bay. It is funded through grants and operates with the help of volunteers. They offer public programs and work with nonprofits on private events. On Friday, Community Boathouse worked with the Brooklyn VA for the first time, with hopes of it becoming an annual event that is extended to other VA programs across the city. Friday’s program for veterans was led by local volunteer Bernadette O Callaghan. “We wanted to do something with our veterans,” O Callaghan said. “That’s what Community Boathouse is all about. Everything is free. We provide the lifejackets, the boats, the paddles, and the volunteers. This is our way to pay it back, particularly to our veterans and other nonprofits.”
As the veterans arrived on the beautiful Friday afternoon, O Callaghan handed the veterans small American flags as a token of appreciation. “This is my way of saying thank you guys for everything that you have all done for us and this beautiful country,” she told them.
After the veterans enjoyed lunch, she briefed the group, explaining how the program would go and provided some safety tips. She then provided instruction, demonstrating how to hold the paddles and how to move them through the water.
Ahead of boarding a boat, one veteran, Titus Battle, who served as a communications specialist in the U.S. Army, was looking forward to the new experience. Battle, who lives in Coney Island, said that he went into the Army in 1979, when he was 17, and served until 1985. He explained the benefits of the experience. “It teaches you to respect authority, be consistent, make sure you do physical exercise and make sure you take orders without attitude. It’s a good experience for a teenager,” he said. However, with the experience and events during his lifetime, Battle has had to navigate various traumas. “Eventually you just want to be happy and find peace,” he said. So he turned to the Brooklyn VA for help. “I was one of those lives that didn’t appreciate being alive and I tried to end my life. So I went to the Brooklyn VA because I didn’t want to live with my trauma anymore. I wanted to find some help, some peace, happiness and meaning in life.” Battle says with the help of the VA, he’s “feeling a thousand times better.”
Battle explained that through the programs that the VA offers, he’s able to create new memories. “I’m looking forward to this. Kayaking is new and in life, when you find something new to do, it’s pretty cool. I said no at first. I’d rather isolate and stay in my apartment and do nothing, but that’s not a part of the healing process. Memories heal trauma, and with good memories, stable ones, you’ll have new memories to work with as opposed to trauma memories,” Battle said, adding that he was hoping to see a seal that kayakers sometimes encounter on their trips out of Jamaica Bay.
Alex Nieves, a U.S. Navy veteran, has also benefitted from the VA’s programs, explaining that they recently went on a fishing trip out of Sheepshead Bay, got to walk rescue dogs in Park Slope, and they enjoy in-house programs like group therapy and sound baths. “You get to do these things with people that are going through similar things that all started in the service, so it’s cool going through a journey with people who can relate to you,” Nieves said. She served in the U.S. Navy from 2003 to 2007 and was forced to retire after suffering from permanent nerve damage or complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). “I had a traumatic accident, so my brain tells my body to send pain signals throughout my body constantly. I was in severe pain all the time and it sent me into a deep depression. I never wanted to leave the house. I was afraid of being near people because someone could touch me slightly and it would cause my pain to escalate. I was afraid to do anything,” she explained. So she joined the Brooklyn VA, an experience that not only helped her with her pain, but helped her reconnect with people.
After she graduated the program and had a son, Nieves stopped being so active in the program. “My pain started getting harder to deal with again and I was getting depressed, so I joined again to help me get back out there and do things like this. I really appreciate being able to do this,” she said. Nieves explained that prior to her injury, she was a thrill seeker and regularly went white water rafting, but kayaking was a new experience. “I’m excited! Doing this stuff, I’m happy. It eases my pain, keeps me relaxed and makes me feel better, so I’m looking forward to this,” she said.
O Callaghan and fellow Community Boathouse volunteers led the troops on the bay for about an hour-long kayaking trip, providing a healing experience and new memories.
Community Boathouse will offer public kayaking trips through Labor Day. For more information about kayaking or volunteer opportunities, check out: www.communityboathouse.org
