((PKG))  VETERANS BEEKEEPING    
((Banner:  Learning Calm Through Bees)) 
((Reporter/Camera:  Deborah Block)) 
((Adapted by:  Martin Secrest)) 
((Map:  Manchester, New Hampshire))  
 
((Popup Banner:  Beekeeping is helping US veterans cope with 
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD))) 
((NATS:  outdoors)) 
((Vince Ylitalo, US Veteran)) 
Couple of weeks into it, I was, I was hooked, absolutely 
hooked.  It's actually helped me so much that I've actually cut 
down on my PTSD visits.  This has actually taken care of or in 
place of that.  So, it's really helped me dramatically because it's 
grounding me now into the fact that I have to be, at the moment, 
taking care of the bees because I have to remember what to do, 
how to do it, when to do it. 
((NATS:  beehive)) 
((Valerie Carter, Recreation Therapist))     
I am a beekeeper myself and so I have found that being 
connected to the beekeeping community, being able to go in the 
hives and not, you can't really focus on much else except the 
hives when you're in there.  Focus on the bees because you're 
really, just really ‘in’ with about 70-thousand bees.  So, you’re 
very focused on what you need to look for, what you need to 
do.  So, the veterans that we have come into the beekeeping 
program, you didn't see their self-esteem growing, their 
confidence growing around beekeeping.  And you see that with 
them educating other people or knowing, “Oh, this is what we 
need to do today.  I know how to do this and I can do it. 
((NATS Beekeeper:  So, anybody that has mites that are going to 
weaken their hives, these bees, being strong and healthy, will go 
rob those and bring home mites.  So, we're not out of the woods 
before winter yet, OK?)) 
((Anthony Jenkins, US Veteran)) 
That’s fascinating.  I didn't realize just how much was involved in 
it and how much animal husbandry, if you will, goes into the 
maintenance, the upkeep, the establishment of the hives and it's 
very complex.  It's a lot, it's a lot more involved than I expected it 
to be. 
((NATS Beekeeper:  So, let’s see if there’s any brood in this 
frame and this frame, these two.  There should be only honey on 
the outside.)) 
((NATS Veteran:  No brood.  I mean, I’m talking about the bee, 
itself.)) 
((Vince Ylitalo, US Veteran)) 
It's very, very helpful for me because it keeps me in the 
moment.  It brings me into ‘now,’ which is very beneficial for 
me.  Sometimes I wasn't but now I am.  And I’m constantly 
thinking about it.  Even when I leave, I'm always thinking, ‘OK, 
what did I do, what did I need to do.’  So, I'm constantly going 
back to ‘now’ throughout the week, until next week, then we start 
up again. 
((NATS Reporter:  This is like a science.)) 
((NATS Veteran:  It is, and to be honest, science was not one of 
my biggest subjects but I’m learning to love it now.)) 
((NATS Veteran:  Right? Me too.)) 
((NATS))