Mighty Oaks Foundation is offering free retreats for Montana active military, veterans, first responders, and their spouses this year. Costs to attend the programs, held in California, Virginia, Texas, and Ohio, are covered by a grant from the Gianforte Family Foundation.
BOZEMAN, Mont., May 25, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Mighty Oaks Foundation is offering free retreats for Montana active military, veterans, first responders, and their spouses this year. Costs to attend the programs, held in California, Virginia, Texas, and Ohio, are covered by a grant from the Gianforte Family Foundation.
The Men's and Women's Legacy retreats are peer-to-peer intensive programs designed to help Montana warriors overcome daily challenges and the long-term effects of trauma, including PTSD, so that they can live lives of purpose and leadership. Scheduling is flexible and based on individual needs. Mighty Oaks also offers programs in Aftercare, Military Resiliency, and a follow-up program for couples, Marriage Advance.
Mighty Oaks National Programs Director Branden Kunath says, "Our main goal is to help Montana vets. The COVID epidemic and recent withdrawals from Afghanistan spiked demand for our programs across the board. Suicide hotline numbers have increased to what we've never seen before."
Mighty Oaks' goals include reducing the suicide rate among warriors to zero, helping heal broken families, and decreasing divorce rates of veteran families. A September 2019 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs report cites a suicide rate for veterans of 1.5 times the rate for non-veteran adults. With veterans comprising nearly 10 percent of the population, Montana has one of the highest numbers of veterans per capita among all U.S. states, second only to Alaska, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The faith-based retreats provide a non-clinical, confidential, open environment fostering camaraderie and fellowship. In addition to free programming, Mighty Oaks covers all meals, lodging, and travel costs. Participants come from all faiths and backgrounds.
Mighty Oaks founder and president Chad Robichaux is a former Force Recon Marine and Department of Defense contractor with eight deployments to Afghanistan. A medal of valor recipient, he has been involved in various high-profile advocacy efforts, including chairing a White House veterans' coalition and helping recover more than 15,000 U.S. citizens and allies from Afghanistan, working with other military veterans through the Save Our Allies mission.
Mighty Oaks Program Manager Bill Coate of Bozeman speaks to the importance of the faith-based programs: "The 'New Normal' has unleashed a tsunami of mistrust on our country. Men have lost trust in almost every sector of society…. At Mighty Oaks, we offer the only true hope in life: a relationship with Jesus Christ."
If you or someone you know is interested in attending a Mighty Oaks retreat, visit Mighty Oaks website to apply and learn more: https://www.mightyoaksprograms.org
Media Contact
Michael Cameron, Mighty Oaks Foundation, 1 (832) 521-7323, [email protected]
Michael Cameron, Mighty Oaks Foundation, [email protected]
SOURCE Mighty Oaks Foundation
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