The Hudson Valley Center for Veteran Reintegration in Kingston has organized a kayak trip on the Hudson River to salute veterans and raise awareness of veteran suicide and homelessness. WAMC's Jim Levulis spoke with the center’s co-founder and executive director Kevin Keaveny about the trip.
Keaveny: So it's going to start on the [September] 29th. At 11:30 a.m. is the kickoff for the ceremonies. It's going to be at the Hudson River Maritime Museum here in Kingston, New York. And we're going to complete the journey at Fort Montgomery Historic Site, just past West Point.
Levulis: I see, in the course of it, it's a four-night, five-day kayak trip covering about 45 miles on the Hudson River. Where did the idea for this event come from?
Keaveny: Well we build kayaks and that's actually how the center started. We started as veterans wooden boat workshop. And it's one of the many programs that we offer. All our programs are free of charge to veterans. So we built these kayaks. Last year was a tough year for everyone, right, with the pandemic, being locked up. And we just felt we needed to do something. You know, isolation it's just debilitating for some of our veterans. So we just wanted to show them that they could get that they could live, so we did a little trip. We hiked up Mount Marcy, went to Lake Tear of The Clouds, put a giant pink unicorn in there. Sent out that original message which says, you know, you can do this, you can live, you've got so many folks that are here to support you. Then we hiked back down the mountain. We started over the locks at Lake Champlain and then paddled the entire distance of the Hudson River down to New York City, where we concluded at the World Trade Center, the Freedom Tower now.
Levulis: And so with the recent events in Afghanistan, does this event this year have added meaning?
Keaveny: Oh, certainly. I mean, on average, we work with a lot of veterans. I'd say anywhere between 45 to 60 veterans a month, individual veterans that we work with. Since the withdrawal from Afghanistan, our phone rings off the hook, we've got veterans walking in, our numbers have near doubled the last month or so. And it's just veterans, they’re just hurting right now. They're concerned. You know, it's very similar to whatever veterans went through in Vietnam. So this of any time this is the time for us to revisit that trip, get out on the Hudson and just show our vets that there are people there for them, which is the key message to this, you know it's for the awareness of veteran suicide, homelessness, and just letting showing them that we're there and all the other organizations are there for them. Get out and live. That's the message, is to get out and live.
Levulis: And I understand in total, seven Iraq and Afghanistan combat veterans will be taking part in this kayak trip. And that includes you. Now, there's clearly a level of camaraderie between veterans and military service members of all branches and jobs. But when it comes to those who have seen combat, is there a tighter bond?
Keaveny: Well, you hit the nail on the head as far as if you wore uniform in whatever capacity there's that bond, right? Because no matter what you do, when you sign that paper, especially in the last 20 years, we've been at war. So it doesn't matter what your job is in the military, you know there's a risk when you sign those papers and you come into service. So with that said, and you know, we've got for this trip we've got seven combat veterans, which means, we've seen the ugliest side of what we go on when you're deployed. So yeah, definitely close. Some of us have never met each other. We're just beginning to know each other, but from the discussions that we've had in the meetings as we're preparing for the trip, you can see the bond. There’s the kidding around, there's the dark humor that we’re well known for and we’ve seen the same things and yes, there is definitely a tight bond.
Levulis: How can members of the public get involved and follow this kayak trip?
Keaveny: So the easiest way, the most immediate way is to follow our Facebook page. And that's facebook.com/HVNCVR. We'll be doing live streaming, recordings and just like the trip last year, everyone can follow the journey. We’ll be up and we'll be live and it's that that is the best way to follow us. And then we also have our stops. Hopefully for the launch, we would love to see a bunch of folks at the Maritime Museum, just to send our veterans off. As you follow our journey and you watch the trip and you see the stories unfold because we are going to share some of our experiences as we go down the river. It's important to understand that not only is this for awareness of veteran suicide and homelessness, but it's also for us to raise funds. Everything that we do for veterans is free of charge to them. We are not highly funded. So your help would be greatly appreciated. It's very simple to donate, just go to hvcvr.org/donate and anything that you contribute would be a great help.
If you or anyone you know are struggling, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.
