HAPPENINGS & STORIES FROM THE HERO PROGRAM

Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Gardening Offers Therapeutic Benefits to HERO Program Veterans & Staff.

The following is an article composed by Madeline Jackson, Lead Clinician at the HERO Program in Opelousas.

A native of Delaware now residing in Lafayette, LA, Madeline served as a licensed counselor in the state of Oregon before coming to Louisiana. She has taken it upon herself to bring into reality, a vegetable garden on the campus of HERO Program, an undertaking that involves veterans in HERO Program and has the side benefit of providing wonderful fresh vegetables during the harvest season. She is currently planting strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber, gourds, carrots, lettuce, turnips, tomatoes, peppers, and           eggplant.                                                                                   Madeline Jackson                                         

Madeline’s Story:

"Veterans have always had a special place in my heart. I come from a long line of military men who helped instill in me a deep respect for the sacrifice our military men, women, and their families make to serve our country.

Working in a garden was an outlet for me to learn how to channel grief and have more solid footing in my own recovery. I am an experienced rose gardener, and I have often told people that roses helped save my life. There was a time when the gardens gave me a reason to wake up in the morning. They made me feel purposeful and productive, even on the days my mind tried to tell me otherwise.

My vision with the garden here at HERO Program was to recreate the same sense of hope and renewal I was able to experience during my recovery. Every year we have planted a garden here, it has been a raving success. Seeing the community come together to help bring the staff’s vision to life was tremendously rewarding. Watching the veteran men and women work side by side to create something they can help nurture and care for months to come was a powerful experience. I am honored to have the opportunity to work with them. This specific year we were able to plant the garden in remembrance of a veteran close to my heart and to those in HERO program. We have titled this year’s garden 'Until Valhalla'.

My work at HERO Program allows me to support these men and women state side, by working with them through their unresolved issues. I do this by focusing intently on helping veterans heal all aspects of their selves through mending body, mind, and spirit. I am honored and proud to work with a team who values and shares the common goal of supporting our service members in their healing processes.

I believe it takes a specific kind of healer to do the kind of work we do at Hero Program. A healer who embodies courage and is willing and able to connect to their own heart center through empathy and deep understanding. I was always taught that to experience meaning and truth, we must be willing to stand on the firing lines of the heartbreaking aspects of life, specifically the disease of addiction and alcoholism.

I am honored to work with a team of clinicians who collectively stands on the firing lines at HERO Program. As a team who leads with our hearts, we strive to create a sacred place that we believe is a critical part of the healing process, both internally and externally."

POSTED MONDAY, APRIL 5, 2021

“I struggled with drugs and alcohol for many years of my life and wasted a lot of time in process, I was completely hopeless. Asking for help is one of the hardest things to do for a guy like myself”. 
                                                ~ Joby Riggs, Intake Coordinator, HERO Program

FORWARD: Joby is in his 7th year of recovery which he has built upon a strong spiritual base. He uses his personal recovery experience to help those coming to the HERO Program for help in their own lives. This is his story about his role in helping Veterans find help with the HERO Program.

HELPING OTHERS FIND HOPE AND ANSWERS
An article by Joby Riggs of the HERO Program.

Helping Veterans has become something I am deeply passionate about. In my role as Intake Coordinator, I work to provide solutions for the service men and women who are struggling and seeking help. It is the mission of the HERO Program to offer a new way of life to each Veteran who walks through our doors.  For me personally, to watch the light come on as our Veterans practice new disciplines and see positive results come from the little things is the reason I do this. 

The Admissions process at the Hero Program, of which I’m honored to be part of, is focused on helping veterans get into our facility as effortlessly as possible.  Starting with the initial contact with a Veteran in need, my goal is to direct them to the essential resources that will provide them with the authorizations needed to enter our program.  

If a Veteran reaches out to us with very little existing resources, we work tirelessly to ensure he or she is put in contact with the people necessary to get them the help they desire.  All of us at the HERO Program work closely with VA centers to guarantee Veterans are cared for and their needs are communicated and considered.  

The Hero Program is dedicated to providing a safe transition into our facility from all regions. To further help our Veterans, our passionate staff is available to transport them to our facility from wherever they are, with support and compassion given along their entire journey.
 
Summing up my role here at the HERO Program, I have made a personal commitment to go above and beyond to assist our Veterans who are suffering with drug addiction, or alcoholism by providing them a solution to a new way of life & purpose. The journey is the reward.