Asheville – According to the National Association of American Veterans, Inc. (NAAV), there are currently 16.5 million veterans, 11.9 million veterans with disabilities, 2.1 million veterans with mental health issues, and 40,401 homeless veterans in the U.S. These men and women have sacrificed so much, and many are not getting the help they need, perhaps because they are not comfortable asking for help or just don’t know where to look.
There is a great opportunity this Memorial Day weekend, Saturday, May 25th, to attend the Veteran’s Healing Farm’s (VHF) 3rd Annual Veterans Resource Fair, an event where veterans, their families, and caregivers can meet with 44 different organizations that are providing services to veterans. Last year, VHF had over 700 people come to the resource fair, almost twice as many as the year before.
The Veteran’s Resource Fair is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. This is an event you don’t want to miss, and best of all, it’s completely free and everyone is welcome!
“Bringing together more than 40 non-profit organizations dedicated to supporting veterans is a collaborative act of love,” said VHF Executive Director Alan Yeck. “We all focus on our common goal: to assist those who have bravely served our nation in any way possible. The Veterans Resource Fair offers veterans the opportunity to discover valuable resources they might not have previously been aware of while giving hope that there exists a strong community—beyond government—that remains deeply committed to them and their families.”
This year’s event will have music by Rooster and Hope Griffin, and there will be three food trucks, including one with ice cream, which they are very excited about.
An example of the collaboration between these nonprofit organizations occurred on April 23rd, when three veteran-run nonprofits, FrontLine Gardens out of Knoxville, TN; 828Vets out of Franklin; and the Veterans Healing Farm of Hendersonville, came together for a daylong project building raised garden beds for another veteran and his family in Franklin, NC. Yeck shared, “To have three separate veteran-run nonprofits from two states come together to help another veteran family was such an incredible experience. We hadn’t known each other prior to that day, but all of us left with hugs.” Yeck and the VHF also work to make sure that no veteran that they are aware of dies alone when their time comes. Someone will be with them.
And it’s not just these nonprofits helping vets; it’s other veterans as well. With only two people on the VHF payroll, they need a lot of help. Yeck explained, “Our volunteer list has increased each year by over a hundred percent. Our first year, we probably were up to a hundred; last year, we were two hundred; and now we’re almost at three hundred. How we define our veteran community is veterans, family members, caregivers, and volunteers. That’s a big point I want to make. It’s not just the vets; it’s the community. But most importantly, what I want to highlight is family, because there’s a lot of programs out there that are for veterans, but they don’t bring the family with them, and the whole family needs to heal.”
Although the VHF is losing their land lease and looking for land to build an even bigger and better farm, they are already planning another big event in November for Veteran’s Day. That event will have the Pershing’s Own Army Band, Country Roads. This is a six-piece active-duty military band, uniforms and all, that plays country music, bluegrass, and Irish music. This event will also be open to the entire community. Check them out on the Tribune Papers Facebook page.
The Veterans Healing Farm is located at 38 Yale Drive, Hendersonville, NC. They are a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2013 to enhance the mental, emotional, and physical well-being of our nation’s veterans and their families. For more information, to volunteer, or to make a donation to help our veterans, please contact the VHF at 828-595-6111 or via email at veteranshealingfarm@gmail.com.