SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
The monthly Silver Springs potluck lunch social for veterans, military members and their families will take place on Saturday, April 21, at 11 a.m. at the Silver Springs Community Center. The featured speaker will be Dr. Marta Elliott, who advocates for veterans throughout Nevada in her role as the chair of the University Veterans Coalition.
Elliott is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Nevada, Reno whose areas of research and teaching include the sociology of health, illness and suicide.
After her presentation describing the University Veterans Coalition and efforts to improve the college experience for student veterans, Elliott will invite veterans to share their contact information if they would be interested in being interviewed by her or by a member of her research team.
The purpose of the interviews is to improve understanding and response to the needs and concerns of veterans, and will be a part of Elliott’s on-going research on the experiences of war from the point of view of Americans who have risked their lives serving their country. Ellliot explains that this research provides a unique opportunity to preserve the stories “of what U.S. military men and women have seen, felt and carried home with them from their years of service.”
The research will ultimately contribute to UNR’s efforts to help all student veterans have the opportunity to succeed in college and beyond.
Elliott has received funding from UNR and from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues to study the needs of student veterans, both at UNR and throughout the Nevada State Higher Education system, and will soon be issuing a report entitled The State of Student Veterans in the Nevada System of Higher Education.
Silver Springs Senior Center hosts the potluck socials for military families and veterans each month in partnership with the Silver Stage Community Task Force. The task force is part of Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey Counties, a private nonprofit.
Elliott featured speaker in Yerington on May 10 also
Elliott will also be the featured speaker at the Thursday, May 10, Healthy Communities Coalition meeting in Yerington at the Boys and Girls Club auditorium.
It has been nearly two years since over 70 community members and officials signed the Community Covenant of Support for Military Families and Veterans. Therefore, in addition to the other agenda items on diverse issues of regional interest, the coalition will also review progress toward the goal of increased support for Lyon County’s veterans, military members and their families since that covenant was signed in September of 2010.
