Inside Bastion’s Headway: A Wounded Warrior Project Partnership Changing Lives of Veterans with Brain Injuries

On a recent morning at a support center in San Antonio, veterans scooped up breakfast tacos, unrolled yoga mats, and settled into a rhythm that feels a little more like family than therapy.

At the center of the room, two men, Patrick and Eli, teased each other as they always do. One is learning to walk again. The other calls himself the “class clown.” Together, they represent what happens when wounded veterans find purpose again – and when organizations unite to make that possible.

Headway San Antonio, launched in summer 2025 and funded by Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP), is the first-ever expansion of Bastion’s powerful cost-free program for post-9/11 veterans with neurological conditions.

“This was the hallmark injury of the fight we just came out of,” said Katie Odom, an Army veteran and occupational therapist who manages the San Antonio site. “No one else here offers full-day, long-term programming like this for veterans with brain injuries. San Antonio needed this.”

Katie and her team combine occupational therapy, functional skill-building, art and music therapy, adaptive yoga, and community outings. Each veteran sets individual goals, from cooking independently to opening a business, while engaging in group routines that restore purpose and connection.

“They come here for each other as much as for the therapy,” Katie said of Headway’s participants.

A New Kind of Recovery

Patrick, a WWP warrior who served as a cook in the Army, joined Headway after a motorcycle crash left him hospitalized and unable to walk. He spent years isolated at home.

Now, he walks laps around his apartment complex with his kids. During a recent pace test in Headway’s hallways, his peers surrounded him, shouting encouragement until he crossed the hallway faster than ever before.

Eli, a Navy veteran and also a WWP warrior, runs a company in Texas that employs veterans to provide at-home care. His brain injury left him blind in one eye, and he deals with chronic back pain. The injuries make it harder to handle the paperwork and day-to-day demands of his business on his own.

“I was a workaholic. I tried to mask my problems with work,” Eli said. “Here, I relax. I laugh. I connect with other veterans.”

When Patrick joined the program, Eli pushed his wheelchair and cut his food. Katie stepped in. “The goal here is independence,” she told him.

Eli adjusted. “Now, I push him to stand on his own,” he said. “And he pushes me to keep showing up.”

No Veteran Heals Alone

WWP’s investment in Bastion’s Headway program reflects its national mission to unite, empower, and activate the veteran community. Since 2012, WWP has invested $436 million in 221 partners nationwide, including 39 best-in-class organizations in 2025. The goal of WWP’s investments is to close gaps in care and expand support for warriors and families.

“Bastion built a model that is truly unique - one that restores independence through community. Wounded Warrior Project is a founding partner of Bastion’s Headway program and was proud to invest in scaling that model because warriors deserve that same chance to heal, reconnect, and find a renewed purpose", said Ashley Bunce, WWP’s director of Community Partnerships and Investments. “When you see veterans like Patrick and Eli push each other, lift each other, and show up for each other, you see the power of this partnership and the ripple effect Bastion's impact is having across New Orleans and San Antonio.”

WWP’s support goes beyond funding. The organization connects Headway participants to adaptive sports and other local resources. Patrick and Eli were both referred to Headway through WWP’s Independence Program.

When Bastion needed transportation for veterans, WWP helped fund the purchase of a wheelchair-accessible van, expanding access to community activities and programs.

“If it improves a veteran’s life, it’s on mission,” Katie said.

A Model That Builds Community Anywhere

Headway’s success is proving that Bastion’s community-based model works even without a residential living community. The team already runs a waitlist and recently hired new staff. Veterans who once stayed home now garden, create art, and share family-style lunches alongside active-duty service members at the center who stop by for a meal.

For Patrick and Eli, the program is more than therapy. Their friendship grew quickly. They joke through yoga class, trade advice about business and family, and hold each other accountable.

“We’re brothers now,” Eli said. “We push each other. We make sure neither of us falls behind.”

Patrick nodded. “Headway gave me motivation. Wounded Warrior Project made it possible. Now I’m moving forward.”

Learn more about WWP’s network of community partners.

Contact: Julian Routh, Public Relations, jrouth@woundedwarriorproject.org, 904.544.0195

About Wounded Warrior Project

Wounded Warrior Project is our nation’s leading veteran services organization, focused on the total well-being of post-9/11 wounded, ill, or injured veterans. Our programs, advocacy, and awareness efforts help warriors thrive, provide essential lifelines to families and caregivers, and prevent veteran suicides. Learn more about Wounded Warrior Project.