BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The 8th annual 'Try Scuba in a Pool' event is taking place this Saturday, offering a safe introduction to scuba diving while supporting local veterans.
The event, organized by Aqua Nut Divers, serves as an awareness campaign for their Veteran Empowerment Through Scuba program, which provides free scuba training to disabled veterans in our neighborhood.
"This is our 8th annual Try Scuba event. And it is a fundraiser with a greater purpose to help our local veterans," said Martha Shimon, former anchor reporter and event organizer.
While the event itself isn't designed as a major fundraiser, it raises awareness about the organization's mission to support veterans through scuba diving.
"What we wanna do is bring attention to the public that we're here. We're here for our vets," Shimon said.
The program trains local disabled veterans to dive at no cost, funded in part by scuba classes offered to the general public.
All equipment is provided for participants, though this year's event is already fully booked. Those interested can email aquanutdivers.com in case of cancellations.
Scuba diving offers unique therapeutic benefits for veterans dealing with physical injuries and PTSD. The weightlessness experienced underwater can provide significant relief for those suffering from chronic pain.
"Once we carry his gear... and then he doesn't have to carry it and cause more problems that way. And once he's in there, that weightlessness is just so invigorating because he doesn't weigh on his joints on his back," Shimon said.
Preliminary studies show promising results for veterans who participate in scuba diving therapy.
"Even some studies show that it has helped significantly improve muscle movement and sensitivity to light and even touch in those with spinal cord injuries," Shimon said.
She added that research from Johns Hopkins University indicates an 80% improvement in PTSD symptoms among veterans who participated in scuba diving.
Those interested in exploring scuba diving can visit aquadivers.com for more information about future events and programs. Disabled military veterans can try scuba diving for free to determine if it's something they want to pursue.
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BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
And on Saturday, an annual event is taking place. It's called 'Try Scuba in a Pool'.
It's a very safe way to do it, but it has a greater purpose out there to help our local veterans.
And joining us live in Studio B, returning to 23, former anchor reporter Martha Shimon, thank you for coming.
Oh it's so fun to be here.
It looks a little different, doesn't it?
Just, just a tad. Absolutely. I couldn't find my way around. I'm like, wait, where am I? And then it all came back to me. I was just, we were laughing about that.
How many years have you been doing this? The Try Scuba.
This is our 8th annual Try Scuba event.
And it is a fundraiser with a greater purpose to help our local veterans.
Oh, absolutely. So what we do is, well, this is not a money maker, uh, at all, Mike. What we wanna do is, uh, bring attention to the public that we're here. We're here for our vets. The Veteran Empowerment Through Scuba is a vision of Aqua Nut Divers, where we are training our local disabled veterans to dive at no cost and this is one of our fundraisers and again it's not a money maker, but it's the idea is to get the name out and say hey we're here to teach you scuba as the public if you're interested because we do operate like a dive shop minus the retail location, repairs still tanks um so we do have the like I said, the scuba classes so if anyone is interested that that money that they pay for that scuba class goes to the vet's project to help our disabled veterans train to dive at no cost. So that's super important to let them know we're here, and then at the same time enjoy the event because it's super fun.
Well, the best part about it is you don't have to have all the gear. You brought one of the setups with you, right here with the fins and everything else. You don't have to have this. They provide that for you. Uh, all the slots are filled for tomorrow. Is there a chance that someone might cancel?
You should email just in case somebody cancels at aqua nut divers dot-com.
OK, so you can do that, but when you get when you're talking about the veterans and being able to do what you do with them, what have you found when it comes to the world of scuba that resonates with someone who might be dealing with PTSD or some other type of issue?
Well, you know, one of the first or second in our second cohort of um disabled military divers, we had a military vet who had back injuries and he was in pain 24 hours, and he didn't announce it, but you could see it in his face and then when we talked about it, he did say he has joint pain, he has back pain and then once we carry his gear because this is, you know, this is, this is uh heavy to carry so we'll don it. There are lifting techniques that we learned through the Handicap Scuba Association because we're all certified through HSA. So we will put this in the water for him, and then he doesn't have to carry it and cause more problems that way. And once he's in there, that weightlessness, um, is just so invigorating because he doesn't weigh on his joints on his back, and so that weightlessness does help, and even some studies show that it has helped significantly improve muscle movement and sensitivity to light and even touch in those with spinal cord injuries. Now these are preliminary studies, they're small, but it is, you know, fascinating, and it is just, um, I think it's significant enough for us to continue to offer this and just continue to get the support from our public. PTSD, there's a study, a preliminary study that we know of from John Hopkins University showing that there was 80% improvement in PTSD symptoms in those who were the divers in that cohort, so that's promising as well um there's not enough studies out there clearly and long term studies as well to know what the situation is long term, but it's certainly the preliminary studies are promising.
If they can't get in this weekend, and they would love to sort of just explore this world, see if it's good, how do they get involved?
They can go to aquadivers.com, and they have all the information there. They can learn about the Try Scuba event, um, they can figure out whether that's something they wanna do, uh, next year or put themselves on the wait list and say, hey, if there's any cancellations, let us know. Dive, uh, if you're a disabled, if anyone's a disabled military vet, they do this for free so they can figure out if this is something they want to invest their time and energy in, right? And those who are going to participate get to decide, hey, I do wanna do this, you know, so they don't just invest their money and time in something that they're not going to continue to want to do very well.
Martha Shimon, thank you so much for coming back to the state visit anytime.
Good to see you.
Very good. Let's go back to Studio A.
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