Indianapolis local shares her passion for helping fellow Veterans
By Derrick Smith, Public Affairs Officer
Rhonda Seward, of Indianapolis, didn’t have to travel far to share her award-winning poem with other Veterans, and the public, during this year’s National Veterans Creative Arts Festival. As a local participant, she gets to somewhat play hosts to more than 100 of her fellow Veterans.
The US Army Veteran is available to meet with fellow service members and celebrate their achievements through healing and artistic expression. Her poem, entitled Just a Thought, examines and illustrates the plight of homeless Veterans in America.
“It's a call to action actually. I'm going to do something else with it, probably through Congress,” said Seward. “It addresses issues that we all see and kind of walk past, ignore, or don't know what to do, so I think with that, we need more calls to action.”
As a former employee of Veterans Affairs, she draws her inspiration for writing from the interactions with Veterans while working in Voluntary Services for 5 years.
“In that role, I was able to see our Veterans when they come in, engage Veterans, get them resources and actually put on different events for Veterans throughout the year, from celebrating the military birthdays to celebrating our veteran patients.”
Seward firsthand experience gave her another call to action. “I started a photo journal on homeless in Indianapolis,” she shares. “I haven't completed it. That was my inspiration. I saw a lot of homeless Veterans, some of the disparages in between mental health, dual diagnosis drug and alcohol, or prescription drug abuse, depression mental health issues, and I said something needs to be done. We need to stop checking boxes and putting Band-Aids over bullet wounds.”
Although she is a gold medal winner in 2025, Seward has previously participated in NVCAF.
“Actually, my first year participating, I was in El Paso, TX. That year, I won, that was back in 2009. I won first place in poetry, and they had the event in Hollywood, CA so that was really neat. Throughout the years I’ve just compete locally.”
Participation in creative arts provides Seward with a valuable outlet beyond competition. She recommends that others consider engaging as well.
“I mean whether you win or lose, even when you lose and you are winning because art is therapy. “