Virtual Reality Goggles to launch at Elder Gallery as part of the Vicarious multi-disciplinary exhibition, to enable empathy for disabled veterans

STATESVILLE, NC, UNITED STATES, October 31, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Purple Heart Homes (www.phhusa.org) is pleased to announce the launch of its series of Virtual Reality Experiences, inviting dialog around issues related to veterans and the veteran experience and using art as the vehicle for reflection and discussion. On November 1, 2018, Purple Heart Homes will introduce its first Virtual Reality Program, which focuses on a Service Connected Disabled Veteran who lost both of his legs as a result of his deployment in Vietnam.

To create the Virtual Realty Experience, Purple Heart Homes worked with Think Broader Foundation and Wheelhouse Media Foundation. Think Broader Foundation is a 501(c)3 woman-led non-profit that promotes creative storytelling to promote empathy. Through a Cultural Vision grant from the Arts & Science Council, Think Broader Foundation partnered with Wheelhouse Media Foundation, which supports non-profit entities who do not have the financial or human resources to adequately market themselves in an increasingly content-driven media world. Also a 501(c)3, the Wheelhouse Media Foundation provides digital content creation to other charitable organizations, allowing them to more fully share their stories, elevate awareness of their efforts, and more successfully achieve strategic objectives. Think Broader and Wheelhouse, together with Purple Heart Homes, will produce a series of “empathy experiences” using virtual reality film production. The first experience, which will be shown at the Vicarious art exhibition being held on November 1 at the Elder Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina, will allow users to immerse themselves in the life of a double amputee war veteran to better understand the challenges of living with disabilities and aging in place as well as “life hacks” for overcoming adversity.

The Vicarious art exhibition is a multi-disciplinary exhibition that will also feature paintings, drawings, glass work, objects and sculpture, and a documentary. Many of these works were created by veterans, as well as by other artists from around the country. The Virtual Reality Project was produced by writer, academic, speaker, and Army veteran Paula Kranz Broadwell. The entire exhibition will invite conversation around the power of art to reach into the psyche in a unique and powerful way.

More than 4 million Service Connected Disabled Veterans live in the United States today (U.S. Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2017/veterans-day.html), and over 50 percent of veterans 65 years of age and older live in homes built in the 1950’s and 1960’s that often are no longer suited to meet their needs because of their ages and disabilities. John Gallina, CEO and Co-founder of Purple Heart Homes, is excited about the potential for this Virtual Reality Experience to help civilians understand what disabled veterans experience on a daily basis, and is grateful for the partnership with Think Broader and Wheelhouse Foundations. “Part of our mission at Purple Heart Homes is to provide housing solutions designed out of necessity that fit the specific needs of veterans of all ages and from all eras. People who view the Virtual Reality Programs will experience an entirely new way of seeing what these disabled veterans face, the housing challenges that exist for many of them, and as a result, gain a deeper empathy and level of compassion for what they go through on a daily basis."

Please join Purple Heart Homes and its partners in thinking about the value that a safe and
accessible home brings to our veterans, who have sacrificed so much for each of us. Please
consider donating to Purple Heart Homes, volunteering for a project, or starting a Chapter in your community. There are so many more of these veterans who need our help. Visit www.phhusa.org to learn more about how you can help Purple Heart Homes in its mission to provide housing solutions for Service Connected Disabled and Aging Veterans.

About Purple Heart Homes
Purple Heart Homes is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded by Dale Beatty and John Gallina, two Iraq combat-wounded veterans on a mission to provide housing solutions for Service Connected Disabled and Aging Veterans that are substantial in function, design and quality. Purple Heart Homes has two programs: Veterans Aging in Place (VAIP), which encompasses the Operation Veterans Home Renovation Project (OVHR), and The Veterans Home Ownership Program (VHOP). From building a ramp for wheelchair-bound veterans to providing home ownership opportunities to veterans with physical as well as invisible injuries, Purple Heart Homes’ programs are designed out of necessity and fit the specific needs of veterans of all ages and from all eras, helping them to live and age in place, in their own safe, accessible and sustainable homes. For more information, visit www.phhusa.org. Purple Heart Homes – Improving Veterans’ Lives One Home at a Time.

Vicarious Art Exhibition – Elder Gallery, 1520 S Tryon St, Charlotte, NC 28203
Date and Time of Exhibition – Thursday, November 1, 2018 – 6:00PM-8:00PM

Debra Kaufmann
Purple Heart Homes, Inc.
+1 301-252-3582
email us here

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