“Thank You for Your Service” is the title of a recently released movie chronicling the lives of young American soldiers returning home from the battlefields of Iraq, only to find that they are unable to escape from those traumatic experiences. While it is fitting to thank any veteran for his or her service, that alone is inadequate as thousands of our brave men and women served suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and 21 veterans commit suicide each and every day. In a nation as prosperous and developed as ours, those statistics are unconscionable. It’s gut wrenching to hear a young soldier say that they feel isolated and alone. It is tragic when they take their own lives.

So what can we do? There are hundreds of veterans support groups across the country, and the Veterans Administration is backlogged but trying to improve services. The reality is that the need is greater than the services being provided. I want to introduce you to a local veterans support group that is making a difference — but we need your help.

Homeward Bound Adirondacks is a 501(c)3 headquartered in Saranac Lake. It began in 2012 as a veterans support group with a simple mission: to guide our veterans through their challenges.

HBA performs three basic tasks: 1. outreach for homelessness, and referrals for benefits and social services or Veterans Affairs, 2. free transportation for appointments, and 3. we conduct weekend healing retreats.

First of all, we owe a huge debt of gratitude for the multiple grants awarded to us from the United Way of the Adirondacks, which helps to subsidize our transportation service and some of our retreats. Our van has gone around the North Country and beyond to Albany and Burlington, all free to veterans. The majority of those rides are for medical services. Thank you, United Way! We were also awarded a $6,800 grant from the Vermont Community Trust and $26,000 from the global pharmaceutical company Alkermes to help conduct retreats.

So what is a retreat? It’s a weekend experience in the Adirondack wilderness designed as a therapeutic experience. It’s well known that the Adirondacks was the place to come in the early 1900s to cure from tuberculosis. Today this natural treasure we call home has been helping soldiers heal from the wounds of war. A retreat consists of 12 to 15 veterans who typically do not know each other. They often come full of apprehension and anxiety. It is a time to bond with other veterans, meet new brothers and sisters, and help another person while you help yourself. These retreats are about veterans helping veterans get past the trauma of war, transition from military life to civilian life and lay down the groundwork toward a life worth living. The weekend retreat consists of hikes, paddling, skiing, campfires, group discussions and often equine, Tai Chi and art therapy. These veterans climb Baker Mountain, Poke-O Moonshine and Owl’s Head. They paddle Lower Saranac and Floodwood. They have skied Big Tupper. They camp at Overlook, Camp Dudley, Lake Clear Lodge and Paul Smith’s, and they enjoy all four seasons in the Adirondacks.

Total strangers leave on Sunday having made new friends, and more importantly they realize that they are not forgotten and that they are not alone. They often ask if they can return, and many do. Retreats are led by our executive director, who is a licensed clinical social worker and director of the Mental Health Association of Essex County.

Here is part of a testimony from an Air Force veteran who attended one of our retreats: “As an Air Force combat veteran with a high disability of PTSD, I do not communicate very well with other people. I find it difficult to talk to my friends and even my close loved ones. I do not put trust or confidence in very many people, and this at times hurts those close to me. I tend to shut off from others in a group setting out of fear of being judged on my disability. When I was told about Homeward Bound Adirondacks I’m not going to lie, I was very skeptical at first. To tell my story of struggles with dark demons and times of pain to complete strangers, some of whom sit on the Homeward Bound Board of Directors, and see them cry huge tears out of respect and concern was huge for me. I am not looking for pity, but looking for others to understand some struggles and difficulties. People need to hear veterans and their stories, and Homeward Bound … did just that. They tried to understand our pain and our struggles in everyday life. The taboo topics that nobody wants to acknowledge but need to be addressed. They listened with high regard and respect, and it did not go unnoticed.”

We have been running these healing retreats for over three years now. The only cost to the veteran is transportation to the retreat site. We pay for lodging, food and all the events. We operate on a shoestring budget with only one part-time employee. We pay rent, phone, insurance and van expenses, but that’s about it. The rest of our donations directly support our veterans. Our most recent retreat for veterans living with PTSD was March 2 to 4 at Camp Dudley in Westport. That was our second retreat in 2018, the next one is in May. Our ultimate goal is to establish a veterans retreat and conference center right here in the Adirondacks. It would be the base camp for all retreats and a center to evaluate recreational therapies to help treat PTSD.

But we need your help, too. Imagine if hundreds of individuals, families, companies, veterans organizations, clubs, schools, not-for-profits and houses of worship were able to donate $9 per month to Homeward Bound Adirondacks? Instead of serving 200 veterans per year, we could be helping HUNDREDS more. It’s simple to do. Go to www.homewardboundadirondacks.org, and click on the “donate” button.

In addition to making a monetary donation, how else could you help? Consider volunteering to help staff our office, answer phones or become a volunteer van driver. Call and leave a message at 518-891-4151, or email us at wecare@homewardboundadirondacks.org.

We can’t offer the cure for PTSD, but we do offer a piece of the puzzle in helping our veterans regain their health. Please consider joining our cause. Time is of the essence. Twenty-one more veterans may take their lives tomorrow.

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Mark Moeller lives in Tupper Lake and is the board chair of Homeward Bound Adirondacks.