GREENFIELD — As the U.S. military expands the roles female soldiers will be allowed to fill to include combat operations, Greenfield Community College’s Veterans Center and the local Disabled American Veterans chapter hope to raise awareness around the struggles many face after they’ve returned from the battlefield.
To that end, the two groups have collaborated to hold a screening of “Service: When Women Come Home Marching,” a documentary about a group of female veterans who find themselves living with post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual assault trauma, prosthetic limbs and homelessness. The film will be played twice, first at GCC’s main campus today at 11 a.m., and again at GCC’s downtown campus on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
The film, produced by filmmaker and journalist Marcia Rock and composer, writer and veterans’ activist Patricia Lee Stotter, who are both Emmy Award winners. The documentary portrays the courage of several women veterans as they transition from active duty to their civilian lives.
“We see the horrific traumas they faced, their invisible as well as physical injuries and all their challenges in receiving benefits and care,” states the film’s website. “We follow them through the large and small accomplishments they work mightily to achieve.”
The film is just part of an effort that “also supports women through open and closed Facebook groups, where they can exchange information, find friendship and share solutions that have changed their lives.”
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