Do you have any military family members? Are you familiar with Second Life Or Would You Like to Be?
The Virtual Veterans Service Center is a 3-D immersion program providing veterans and military families access to community, conversation and resource information by and with trained supporters, comrades and individuals experiencing transition from military to civilian life.
Mission
Our mission is to simulate a brick-and-mortar veteran support center, veteran service office and hall through the 2nd Life online virtual world created by Linden Labs. This environment will provide an alternate venue for veterans and military families to privately and anonymously engage in support from trained professionals as well as identify additional resources to meet their needs.
Problem to Solve
Current avenues for support are sometimes initially undesirable to veterans who are not yet comfortable in seeking assistance, or yet prepared to navigate through traditional centers or agencies to receive assistance. Counsel and conversation can be beneficial to veterans, and the 3-D immersion program helps to maintain a separation between the veteran and their 2nd Life avatar, creating a comfort zone in which the user feels more comfortable asking questions and seeking help through sources provided through the Virtual VSO and the real world.
Methodology
Our method is to create a construct in 2nd Life where veteran participants can maintain their anonymity and still access trained professionals or visit with comrades who can empathize with their situation. Virtual Veterans Support Center staff will be vetted and created through non-profit veteran service organizations, participating counselors and doctors participating in the project. This virtual environment is not designed to provide treatment or therapy, but is a pre-treatment strategy that will help to prepare participants for what to expect in the civilian transition, offer resources to assist them and engage them in conversation with other veterans and veteran service personnel.
Technical Requirements
The Virtual Veterans Support Center requires the construction of a 2nd Life SIM, the creation of multiple avatars, and integration into existing Web infrastructure. Artistic and Technical Design, 2nd Life development & Programming as well as “object” creation are all necessary components to the creation of the center. Visit www.secondlife.com.
The Virtual Veterans Service Center is open to all veterans service organizations who would like to take part. If you are interested in participating, simply visit our signup form here> and join the growing list of SL support for Real Life resources.
Find Out What Others Have Done>
If you are interested in participating, please visit our signup form here>
1) provide your contact information on our sign up form(attached) or visit http://vfnh.org/sl/
2) Sign up for 2nd Life and create your own avatar
3) Download the “Firestorm” Viewer for 2nd Life at http://www.phoenixviewer.com/downloads.php
4) Explore the tutorials and programs in SL (Second Life) to begin learning about building SIMS
5) Stay Connected: Once we receive your SL user name, you will be invited to the Virtual Veterans Resource Center project Groups, Courses and other events in SL. Please acquire a free Gmail account and Google+, download the Google Talk plugin so that you can collaborate online.