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    Posted August 16, 2012 by
    dinalee
    Location
    San Francisco, California

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    Active Duty Military Suicides Have Doubled: Mural Art Giving Voice to the Forgotten.

    By dinalee  |  Posted August 16, 2012  |  San Francisco, California
     

    CNN PRODUCER NOTE     San Francisco has murals all over the city, but dinalee says she was especially excited to see this mural project because there hasn't been one specifically for U.S. military personnel. The Veterans Mural Project, founded by Amos Gregory, was inspired to give veterans a creative outlet and voice. "Amos Gregory, who is in the video, wants vets to know that the mural project is there for them. He wants active duty and non active duty personnel to have a voice," she says. "I hope vets from all over the country come to this mural project and participate. It can become a place where we can recognize and appreciate the ones who have fought for our country."
    - Anika3, CNN iReport producer

    The San Francisco Veterans Mural Project has started up on Shannon Street in San Francisco.

    Amos Gregory aka LowKeyRider1 is facilitating and encouraging US military vets to participate in painting murals on the walls in an alley in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood, that has been used by drug addicted vets to use or shoot their drugs. The drugs are used to mask the pain of "TRAUMA."
    Shannon Street sits between Geary and Post and Jones and Taylor Streets. This area is also close to the Financial District where the working class and tourists, often harass or avoid the downtrodden.

    Gregory says the murals will be "painted by veterans," and this alley will give them a voice. He also says a lot of murals and paintings in the US and in San Francisco are never painted by veterans themselves, so this project will be the only "true public art," by and about our US Military Veterans.

    During the month of July the U.S Army reported 26 suicides by it's forces, which more than doubled since June 2012, and subsequently the U.S Air Force reported 6 suicides, and the U.S Navy reported 4, by active duty personnel. The totals for the year are approximately 154 active duty soldiers. The amount of suicides is larger than the number of soldiers killed in action. The Army projects that there will be one suicide among the active duty personnel per day in 2012 alone. My numbers do not count the amount of non-active duty suicides.

    Amos Gregory is hoping that former or current military personnel come to Shannon Street and paint.
    Contact Form http://www.sfvetsmural.org/#!page-5

    San Francisco Veterans Mural Project http://www.sfvetsmural.org/

    You can also find them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/SFVETSMURALPROJECT/

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