The Wayfinders Wellness Retreat ranch house is taking shape faster than the organization could have hoped for.
The retreat, which provides a safe space for first responders and military members suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Operational Stress Injuries, along with their families, received a boost in the form of a $23,000 cheque from Cochrane Home Treasures on April 4.
"This is going to help us get this location prepared to be able to host people and to be able to operate our summer programming," said Wayfinders founder Paul Wagman.
The funding will allow the retreat to be one step closer to completing the ranch house and to offer spaces for more nature-focused programming and workshops like equine therapy, community gardening, drum circles, yoga, meditation, art, First Nations sweat lodge ceremonies, and other land-based teachings.
The retreat's base of operations will be the ranch house once its remodelling is complete. The building was originally constructed as a homestead on WineGlass Ranch, located about 20 minutes southwest of Cochrane.
Wagman, a retired officer with Calgary Police Services who has PTSD, said getting Wayfinders off the ground has helped him greatly in dealing with his own traumas.
"It's quite well-documented how beneficial it is to be involved in things like this," he said. "It gives you purpose and it's important to advocate and not be entirely removed from the environment and those you served with.
"That's why peer engagement is so critical. It also takes you away from the rabbit hole to focus on wellness. It's such a crucial thing for us to be that positive place to show where the bar exists, and people can determine their own path of mental health through services that work very well."
According to Wayfinders, mental health and trauma-related injuries are increasingly becoming the most reported within public service.
Home Treasures chair Barb Primeau said people with PTSD have fallen through the cracks and the non-profit was happy to help provide a resource for those who the government has been slow to assist.
Going back to the Second World War, Primeau recalls her father having issues coping upon his return home following his enlistment.
"We did not know what PTSD was at that time, it wasn't labelled," she said, becoming emotional. "I watched what my dad went through.
"When I heard about [Wayfinders], all I could think of was 'God if he had only had something like this, it would have been different."
Primeau added that many from her generation shared the same experience with relatives returning from war.
"I'm sure that anyone that had somebody overseas during that time had to see them come back forever changed," she said.
"As young as I was, I just sat and watched my father try to climb a bureau that wasn't helping him while trying to understand why."
Primeau said that while her father did not get the help he needed, she is pleased that a new generation can seek help through organizations like Wayfinders without barriers in place.
Wayfinders has tried to build its organization over the last two years through a grassroots approach of engaging the community, and it's thanks to support from Home Treasures and organizations such as Spray Lake Sawmills, Canlin Energy, Cochrane Toyota, Cochrane Floors and More, Evans Painting and countless others that they're able to provide relief for those in need.
During the month of April, Two Pharmacy is also helping to fundraise for the retreat through their Community Roots Program by donating a percentage of all their sales.
Wayfinders is currently seeking community partners to support the organization and volunteer board members, preferably with experience, to dedicate themselves to replace some of the injured founders and members they have lost.
To find out more about volunteer opportunities visit wayfinderswellness.ca
