A retired U.S. Army general from Texas is leading a unique initiative designed to help veterans overcome the difficulties facing them as they return to civilian life.
Amarillo-born Maj. Gen. Bob Dees gathered with supporters in Dallas recently to share the vision of the National Center for Healthy Veterans, an all-inclusive program designed to provide comprehensive assistance.
Located outside of Lynchburg, Virginia, the center’s Valor Farm offers a nine-month residential program for veterans who stay in on-campus homes and engage in a variety of programs to enable them to become healthy and whole and “to contribute to America the way they truly can.”
“We have a problem in this nation. It’s a national epidemic of veterans’ suicide. But the potential is equally large. America needs her veterans now more than ever before,” Dees said at the event attended by The Dallas Express. “That’s our purpose at the National Center for Healthy Veterans.”
“Physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, and relational wellness is how we define healthy,” he explained. “We need to put healthy veterans back on the streets of America because America needs them more than ever as businessmen, entrepreneurs, coaches, educators, and societal role models.
“Strategically, our purpose is to reshape the nature of veteran care in America,” Dees said while discussing the uniqueness of the program. “We love the VA, but the VA touches 30% of the veteran demographic and helps even less, so the rest of them are in the woodwork of America. They’re in the churches, communities, corporations, and campuses of Dallas, Texas, and beyond.
“So we have that strategic desire to reshape the whole nature of veterans care.”
The facilities at Valor Farm enable the center to “provide community to defeat isolation, which is one of the primary causes of veteran suicide,” he said. “We take them through faith-based trauma recovery, high skills programs, and all sorts of electives as well.”
In addition to health and wellness facilities, Valor Farm operates as a working farm, allowing veterans to work with horses and livestock, which provides meaningful occupation alongside animal therapy. Gardens on location also enable participants to connect to the land through growing food.
“We’re a national prototype,” Dees said, highlighting the inaugural Spirit of Virginia Award that Valor Farm received from Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin last year.
During the most recent State of the Commonwealth address, Youngkin explained, “This award recognizes the unique qualities and standout achievements of incredible men, women and organizations doing great things across the Commonwealth – like our friends Major General Bob Dees and Brigadier General Jeff Horne at the National Center for Healthy Veterans.”
“The Valor Farm is a shining example of the embodiment of the Spirit of Virginia, an effort maintained by hundreds of volunteers to lift-up those who have sacrificed in the name of freedom and the defense of liberty,” the governor said. “Thank you.”
“We’re grateful for the governor’s endorsement,” Dees explained and pointed to ways that people can become involved with the work that the National Center for Healthy Veterans is doing.
“We need your financial support … but secondly, we need your support referring veterans from Dallas, Texas, and around the nation,” he explained. “We need to pull the ‘least of these’ (Matthew 25:40) out of the woodwork of America so we can help them regain identity, regain health wellness, and put them back on track to do good things for America.”
The National Center for Healthy Veterans is busy expanding the facilities at Valor Farm so that it can assist more veterans from across the country.
