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HEARTS FOR HEROES
Hearts for
LAST GALA SEASON, NONPROFITS DREAMED UP INNOVATIVE ADAPTATIONS FOR THEIR SIGNATURE FUNDRAISING EVENTS
By Anne Miller GIVINGBACKTOTHOSEWHOGAVEFORAMERICA
An estimated one in three veterans may experience invisible wounds such as post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety, according to Home Base Florida, a nonprofi t dedicated to addressing these concerns through clinical care, wellness, training, and research.
“They deserve all these things,” says Armando Hernandez, Home Base Florida program senior director and a U.S. Marine veteran. A new partnership with David Lawrence Centers for Behavioral Health means veterans and their families can access free, outpatient behavioral health services. “There’s a huge need in Southwest Florida to take care of our veterans with good mental health care in a timely manner that they don’t have to pay for,” says Hernandez.
Home Base Florida has trained David Lawrence Centers’ staff on its evidencebased cognitive processing therapy program. During approximately 12 weekly sessions
DAVID LAWRENCE CENTERS FOR BEHAVIORAL with a therapist plus out-of-session assign-HEALTH PARTNERS WITH HOME BASE FLORIDA ments, participants address the meaning of their traumatic event, identify their thoughts and feelings, and discuss issues such as safety, trust, esteem, and intimacy. The goals of the therapy are to reduce distress during memories of the trauma, decrease emotional numbing and avoidance, lessen depression and anxiety, and improve day-to-day living. “Cognitive behavior therapy helps individuals change their thinking about the traumatic events they’ve experience and to manage their feelings and behaviors related to those experi-
WHETHER ADDRESSING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL OR PHYSICAL WOUNDS OF WAR OR PROVIDING COUNSELING AND HOUSING, SEVERAL GROUPS ARE STEPPING UP TO HELP SOME OF COLLIER COUNTY’S 26,000 MILITARY VETERANS
By Robin F. DeMattia and Cathy Chestnut
ences,” says Nancy Dauphinais, chief operating offi cer for David Lawrence Centers. She calls the suicide rate among veterans “alarming” because they account for 20 percent of all suicides in the U.S.— and suicides among post-9/11 veterans are four times as high as combat deaths. This is one reason David Lawrence Centers wanted to offer the Home Base Florida program.
After the cognitive processing therapy program was launched this spring, 10 veterans and family members signed up. “People suffer and recover in a community and especially in a family,” Dauphinais says. “It’s important to recognize that families experience trauma as well as service members. By treating the entire family, it helps the entire family to heal.”
In the last year, David Lawrence Centers has provided services such as crisis stabilization, residential substance abuse treatment, and psychiatric medication management to more than 150 veterans. About 91 percent were male, and the age range was 22 to 88—with 44 percent under age 50.
Hernandez says it’s important for family and friends to reach out to veterans who appear depressed or isolated. “A lot of times, for the veteran, it’s hard to recognize that your normal isn’t normal,” he notes. “It’s important that we watch for these things and help our veterans get into care.”
Home Base Florida is a Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital program that was expanded to Southwest Florida in 2014. Through philanthropic support and collaborations with Florida Gulf Coast University, Lee Health, David Lawrence Centers, and the YMCA, all services are provided at no cost regardless of ability to pay or discharge status.
Wounded Warriors of Collier County is making major strides in getting veterans into safe, comfortable homes—and off the streets—with the opening of three singlefamily homes and the July acquisition of a 10-unit, $2.77 million apartment.
With the new apartment, Wounded Warriors of Collier County Founder and President Dale Mullin and Hunger & Homeless Coalition of Collier County Executive Director Mike Overway believe they can effectively end the problem of veteran homelessness in Collier, where 22 homeless veterans were identifi ed during the coalition’s annual survey in January 2022.
Before negotiating on the apartment, Wounded Warriors opened three single-family homes, beginning in 2020 with its Alpha House on Fifth Avenue North for young vets struggling with mental health or substance abuse challenges. It was followed by the Bravo and Charlie houses for senior vets who pay 30 percent of their income, typically Social Security benefi ts, for monthly rent. The three houses put the roofs over the heads of 14 vets, and the new apartment on Gulfstream Drive has two-bedroom units to house up to 20.
The homes have been generously funded by donations from private donors, local businessowners, and foundations, such as the Home Depot Foundation, J. Aron Charitable Foundation, and Collier Community Foundation, which provided $247,500 for Bravo House. The local organization is not affi liated with the national Wounded Warriors Project.
HEALING BOND AT NAPLES THERAPEUTIC RIDING CENTER
Once a month, up to 10 veterans and family members can participate in Operation Strides, a free, ground-based program (which means no riding) offered by the Naples Therapeutic Riding Center.
Participants brush horses, walk them around the arena, and pet or hold onto the horse as they work on their communication skills, redevelop feelings of caring, and build trust and self-confi dence. “When you work with a horse on the ground, you form such an incredible bond. It’s like someone’s brushing your hair,” says Lea Haven, an advanced instructor credentialed through the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International.
Haven says the program allows veterans with post-traumatic stress or anxiety to relax, stay in the moment, and fi nd a quiet place in their mind.
Afterward, the participants usually mingle and enjoy refreshments provided by American Gold Star Mothers of Southwest Florida. “It’s a safe place where a lot of networking happens after we put the horses away,” Haven says.
KEEN COMPANIONS: GOLDEN PAWS ASSISTANCE DOGS
Combat-wounded veterans are eligible to receive a free, skilled assistance dog to provide emotional and physical mobility support and give them independence through Golden PAWS Assistance Dogs, founded 10 years ago.
“Our dogs provide emotional support, physical mobility support, and for some of our recipients, assist the veteran if they’re having a nightmare,” says Arden Vorperian, annual giving manager.
The dogs can help a recipient get up from the ground or a chair and can retrieve items like a television remote control.
Training is specifi c to the veteran’s needs. Vorperian says some veterans have posttraumatic stress while others suffer physical symptoms such as mobility and speech issues related to Agent Orange sues related to Agent Orange exposure or life-altering, duty-related injuries.
Most dogs are golden retrievers. Donors can sponsor and name a Golden PAWS dog for a gift of $40,000 or more to cover training and placement expenses, as well as food and veterinary care for the working life of the dog.
Pairing a veteran and a dog is heartwarming, she says. Several dogs are introduced to the veteran—yet one only inevitably goes to the right recipient and its forever home. “You see that bond immediately,” says Vorperian. “It’s pretty incredible.”
TO THE SEA WITH FREEDOM WATERS FOUNDATION
The Freedom Waters Foundation helps veterans get out on a boat to fi sh or sightsee or join dozens of other veterans for a meet and greet aboard the Naples Princess and other sightseeing boats.
“Water has a natural healing property it—being on and around it,” says Debra Frenkel, a licensed clinical social worker and the founder and executive director of the Freedom Waters Foundation. “It has a natural therapeutic effect where people become relaxed.” Camaraderie with other veterans and with civilians they can trust is also important, she says.
Freedom Waters Foundation serves more than 1,500 veterans annually. Commercial and private boat owners lend their time and vessels so veterans can relax and leave their concerns back on the dock. Frenkel says veterans appreciate the programs.
“What I hear a lot is, ‘This is the nicest thing anyone has done for me since we’ve come back from the war.’ I hear that a lot from Vietnam veterans,” she says.
FINAL TOAST:
CELEBRITY SUPPORT
Naples philanthropist Brenda Melton founded the Celebrity Martini Glass Auction in 2008 and it went on to raise $5 million— mostly for veterans causes. Melton retired the event during a glamorous, invitationonly farewell celebration in November 2021 that included celebrities and veterans, live performances, and Yellow Ribbon Awards. The Neapolitan fi rst conceived the annual auction of artistdesigned martini glasses signed by celebrities or American heroes as a fundraiser for the Naples International Film Festival. During Naples International Film Festival. During the festival, she saw two military-subject fi lms “that impacted my life,” recalls Melton, who has vets in her family. “I decided to start raising money for veterans.” Monies raised have been distributed to local charities through the Veterans Support Fund at Collier Community Foundation. While the fund remains active, Melton has turned her attention to veteran programs at the Naples Senior Center.
