Wounded Warrior Project Mental Health Workshop Helps Veterans Heal

WILLIAMSTOWN, Ky., Sept. 27, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Injured veterans recently attended a Wounded Warrior Project^® (WWP) mental health workshop in Nantahala, North Carolina. Throughout the experiential learning event, warriors committed to personal goals they'll focus on for six months after the workshop. While these gatherings are often the first time warriors leave their homes to connect with one another and their communities, warriors return home with a network of supportive bonds to help them on their roads to recovery.

"This workshop set a fire inside my heart to make a change and reclaim my life," said Kenneth Huff, Army veteran from Williamstown, Kentucky. "I have a new platoon of friends to help me over the humps life may throw at me, and after just three days back from the workshop, I am doing things I haven't done in more than seven years – like going back to church. Now, I am pushing myself to reach a place where I may be an inspiration to others."

Through the generous support of donors, WWP offers veterans specialized mental health programs and services – tailored to each warrior's specific needs and free of charge. One such program is its multi-day mental health workshops that are offered as all-male, all-female, or all-couples. These workshops provide safe, private environments for warriors to express themselves and share their experiences. By the end, warriors share lessons learned from the activities that impacted their personal struggles most and set achievable goals for their recoveries.

WWP staff use team building activities in a recovery model that allows warriors to be vulnerable to the unknown and identify and work through anxieties together. As warriors challenged themselves through outdoor activities that included a zip lining course, they actively honored oaths they agreed to at the beginning of the workshop, including "to care for self and others" and "to be present in recovery."

"I could never have imagined that in the short time we had at the mental health workshop, it would change my life," Kenneth said. "But it did – it saved my life."

To learn and see more about how WWP's mental health workshops connect, serve, and empower wounded warriors, visit http://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/, and click on multimedia.

About Wounded Warrior Project
Wounded Warrior Project^® (WWP) connects, serves, and empowers wounded warriors. Read more at http://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/about-us.

SOURCE Wounded Warrior Project