LOCAL NON-PROFIT TO HELP 80 MILITARY FAMILIES FIND PEACE AFTER WAR IN 2009
Project Sanctuary, a local non-profit started by Parker resident Heather Maxey, will give 80 military families a five-night, all-expenses-paid, therapeutic retreat in the Colorado Rocky Mountains this year. Building from its inaugural year in 2008 hosting three retreats for a total of eight military families, Project Sanctuary enters its second year of service offering ten retreats to a total of 80 military families. These retreats will be co-hosted by YMCA of the Rockies at the Snow Mountain Ranch facility near Winter Park, Colorado. Additional funding comes from individual donations and grants including a sizeable grant from The William G. McGowan Charitable Fund.
Founded in November 2007, Project Sanctuary began offering retreats in 2008 to support returning troops by strengthening the family as a whole. Combining medical and psychological services with group dynamics, team building, personal care, and coping skills, Project Sanctuary offers fun, enjoyable, constructive opportunities for service personnel to reconnect with their loved ones, while providing support for positive reintegration into civilian life.
Project Sanctuary accomplishes this mission with diversional, therapeutic, recreational activities, including skiing, tubing, snowmobiling, hiking, whitewater rafting and horse-back riding in addition to more structured marriage-building workshops and financial management training. Couples are given the opportunity to reconnect on a date night while their children are engaged in separate activities.
“Even though all of the activities are designed to facilitate positive interaction, the walls usually come down around meal time,” says Executive Director Maxey. “When all the families come together to prepare meals and wash dishes, some of the most profound healing begins. By the end of the week, the tears and the bonding are an overwhelming indication of mission accomplished.”
Project Sanctuary helps military families work through the challenges associated with deployment, including increased rates of suicide, divorce, domestic violence, substance abuse, financial troubles, homelessness and reintegration into civilian life.
Statistics released in December 2007 by top officials at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs indicate that 18 military veterans kill themselves every day. RAND Corporation estimates that 300,000 U.S. troops — approximately 20 percent of those deployed — are suffering from depression or post-traumatic stress from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. A U.S. Army research study shows that alcohol abuse and divorce rates are higher for veterans returning from service in combat zones as compared to veterans in non-combat zones.
The effects of military deployment on children are even more staggering. Backed by funding from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command, researchers harvested data from the U.S. Army Central Registry of 1771 families worldwide with at least one instance of child neglect or abuse between September 2001 and December 2004. The results showed a staggering 1858 parents had maltreated their children. During the deployment period, maltreatment tripled, neglect quadrupled, and physical abuse nearly doubled. Government statistics indicate that in 2004, 1.1 million children (under the age of 18) were maltreated in enlisted soldiers’ families.
The success of the Project Sanctuary program is measured through immediate, written feedback from all program participants at the conclusion of their guest visit. Interview surveys, entry and exit, are made available to participants during the retreat and are scheduled to be completed at the following intervals: three months, six months, and yearly for at least three years thereafter.
Dave and Michelle Bruce’s family of Colorado Springs were the first to experience a Project Sanctuary retreat. “The military life is rewarding but very difficult in many ways. It was so nice to have someone care about the sacrifices we make, both as family members, and as active duty military. Thank you for educating others about what this is REALLY about and for showing me and my family kindness and gratitude. You may never know of the impact you have made on our lives.”
Project Sanctuary is funded by grants, private donations and corporate sponsorships, including YMCA of the Rockies. Planned fundraising events for 2009 include a golf tournament at The Country Club at Castle Pines this summer and a fall gala. Interested donors are encouraged to visit the website at www.projectsanctuary.us, call Development Director Kristi Kinnison, or write to Project Sanctuary, PO Box 132, Parker, CO 80134.
As Project Sanctuary continues to expand its services, the organization expects to become fully self-sufficient by building a retreat facility in the Colorado Rocky Mountains to provide year round therapeutic, recreational opportunities specifically for military families.
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_____________________________________________________________________
About Project Sanctuary
Est. November 2007, Project Sanctuary is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to provide therapeutic, curative, supportive and recreational activities to veterans, active military personnel, their spouses and children in a leisure environment. We are dedicated to providing an environment by where individuals and their families who have been affected by their service in the military may spend both leisure and structured time with their families and fellow service personnel in an effort to diminish the wearisome impact of returning home after a considerable period away while serving the interests of the country. For more information, visit www.projectsanctuary.us. Tax deductable donations are accepted online or by mail at Project Sanctuary, PO Box 132, Parker, CO 80134.
Founded in November 2007, Project Sanctuary began offering retreats in 2008 to support returning troops by strengthening the family as a whole. Combining medical and psychological services with group dynamics, team building, personal care, and coping skills, Project Sanctuary offers fun, enjoyable, constructive opportunities for service personnel to reconnect with their loved ones, while providing support for positive reintegration into civilian life.
Project Sanctuary accomplishes this mission with diversional, therapeutic, recreational activities, including skiing, tubing, snowmobiling, hiking, whitewater rafting and horse-back riding in addition to more structured marriage-building workshops and financial management training. Couples are given the opportunity to reconnect on a date night while their children are engaged in separate activities.
“Even though all of the activities are designed to facilitate positive interaction, the walls usually come down around meal time,” says Executive Director Maxey. “When all the families come together to prepare meals and wash dishes, some of the most profound healing begins. By the end of the week, the tears and the bonding are an overwhelming indication of mission accomplished.”
Project Sanctuary helps military families work through the challenges associated with deployment, including increased rates of suicide, divorce, domestic violence, substance abuse, financial troubles, homelessness and reintegration into civilian life.
Statistics released in December 2007 by top officials at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs indicate that 18 military veterans kill themselves every day. RAND Corporation estimates that 300,000 U.S. troops — approximately 20 percent of those deployed — are suffering from depression or post-traumatic stress from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. A U.S. Army research study shows that alcohol abuse and divorce rates are higher for veterans returning from service in combat zones as compared to veterans in non-combat zones.
The effects of military deployment on children are even more staggering. Backed by funding from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command, researchers harvested data from the U.S. Army Central Registry of 1771 families worldwide with at least one instance of child neglect or abuse between September 2001 and December 2004. The results showed a staggering 1858 parents had maltreated their children. During the deployment period, maltreatment tripled, neglect quadrupled, and physical abuse nearly doubled. Government statistics indicate that in 2004, 1.1 million children (under the age of 18) were maltreated in enlisted soldiers’ families.
The success of the Project Sanctuary program is measured through immediate, written feedback from all program participants at the conclusion of their guest visit. Interview surveys, entry and exit, are made available to participants during the retreat and are scheduled to be completed at the following intervals: three months, six months, and yearly for at least three years thereafter.
Dave and Michelle Bruce’s family of Colorado Springs were the first to experience a Project Sanctuary retreat. “The military life is rewarding but very difficult in many ways. It was so nice to have someone care about the sacrifices we make, both as family members, and as active duty military. Thank you for educating others about what this is REALLY about and for showing me and my family kindness and gratitude. You may never know of the impact you have made on our lives.”
Project Sanctuary is funded by grants, private donations and corporate sponsorships, including YMCA of the Rockies. Planned fundraising events for 2009 include a golf tournament at The Country Club at Castle Pines this summer and a fall gala. Interested donors are encouraged to visit the website at www.projectsanctuary.us, call Development Director Kristi Kinnison, or write to Project Sanctuary, PO Box 132, Parker, CO 80134.
As Project Sanctuary continues to expand its services, the organization expects to become fully self-sufficient by building a retreat facility in the Colorado Rocky Mountains to provide year round therapeutic, recreational opportunities specifically for military families.
###
_____________________________________________________________________
About Project Sanctuary
Est. November 2007, Project Sanctuary is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization whose mission is to provide therapeutic, curative, supportive and recreational activities to veterans, active military personnel, their spouses and children in a leisure environment. We are dedicated to providing an environment by where individuals and their families who have been affected by their service in the military may spend both leisure and structured time with their families and fellow service personnel in an effort to diminish the wearisome impact of returning home after a considerable period away while serving the interests of the country. For more information, visit www.projectsanctuary.us. Tax deductable donations are accepted online or by mail at Project Sanctuary, PO Box 132, Parker, CO 80134.
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