Veterans deserve and need services that will help them when they leave active duty. Last month’s Veterans Resource Fair showcased many helpful services available to veterans in the area.
One such program, Operation Outdoor Freedom, is run by the Florida Forest Service. Operation Outdoor Freedom, launched twelve years ago, provides recreational opportunities in state forests, agricultural and private lands to wounded veterans. To qualify for this program, the veteran must have a service-connected disability rating of 30% or greater or be a Purple Heart recipient.
The activities are free of charge. Operation Outdoor Freedom puts on 120-130 events per year with anywhere from four to ten people participating at each event.
Gary Sisson, Area supervisor for Operation Outdoor Freedom, remarked, “The program is state-wide. We do day and overnight trips and some lasting several days.”
Amanda Bailey, Administrative Assistant, commented, “We do a bonfire and they [the veterans] get together and share stories, laugh and talk. Afterwards, they send us emails telling us how much fun they had.” For more information go to www.operationoutdoorfreedom.com. You can also follow them on Facebook.
Another organization, Operation Warrior Resolution, is a veteran-owned 501c3 nonprofit organization based in Sarasota. Founded in 2019 by Wendy Price, its mission is to heal veterans and their families in body, mind and spirit. They practice brain-based healing which heals the mind from the inside out. All their services are free.
“We do a 90-day Tactical Healing program. We begin with a five-day retreat followed by 90 days of coaching. We also do a six-week equine therapy program,” stated Ms. Price.
The great thing about the program is that although it’s based in Sarasota and does a lot of activities in-person, it also works virtually with individual throughout the state. To learn more about Operation Warrior Resolution, go to www.operationwarriorresolution.org.
Honor Flight West Central Florida was organized in 2010. It is one of eleven chapters throughout Florida and one of forty-seven in the entire United States. Its mission is to show appreciation to our veterans by giving them the opportunity to share with other veterans on an all-expense paid trip to Washington D.C. by charted jet. As with all the organizations represented at the resource fair, Honor Flight West Central Florida receives no government funding. They rely on donations to cover the cost of the veterans’ fare and other expenses.
Each flight carries 75 veterans and 75 “guardians.” Each veteran is assigned a guardian who assists them in any way necessary. The guardians pay $500 for their flight. This local chapter flies four times a year. A program like this doesn’t come cheap. The budget for each flight is $91,000. By the end of the year, they will have flown 3,800 veterans total.
On June 4, they completed their 50th flight. On this jam-packed one-day trip the veterans got to visit iconic sites, such as the World War II Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, and the Air Force Memorial.
Steve Katz, a board member of Honor Flight West Central Florida, stated, “We have a waiting list into next year for the flights and we have an ongoing need for guardians.”
For more details about Honor Flight West Central Florida, to donate, or to volunteer call 352-428-7387 or 727-498-6079 or log onto www.honorflightwcf.org.
For more information on the national organization and a list of all the locations throughout the country go to www.honorflight.org and click on “Find a Hub.”
Shield of Faith Mission’s goal is to prevent veteran suicide and bring our veterans back to a space where they are resilient again. The organization was founded in 2011 and is based in Tampa. Although it is a faith-based organization, it’s not affiliated with a church. Dayna Friedman is the Vice-President of the organization and Angela Whitener is the Executive Assistant. Ms. Whitener’s husband is a 20-year combat veteran in Special Forces.
Shield of Faith Mission hosts medical clinics and provides care to the veterans. The organization brings twenty healthcare providers together to work on issues such as Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, sleep issues, chronic pain and moral injury.
Ms. Friedman explained what moral injury is. “Being in combat and having to witness all the horrors of war; perhaps you have to blow up a building and you know there are women and children in that building. That is a moral injury because it goes against your moral compass. We know that in order to treat a person you have to take care of their psychological, physical, social and spiritual needs.”
After a week of counseling, the health care providers put together a care plan for each veteran. The organization pays for that care for up to a year. Shield of Faith works with female veterans separately because they have different needs from male veterans. They have a lot of resources specifically geared to these women. For more information about Shield of Faith Mission go to www.sofmissions.org or call 813-256-1711.
Although most of the attendees at the event came to find out about veterans’ resources, it’s a good bet that many came to meet two well-known people−Florida Congressman Gus Bilirakis, a tireless advocate for veterans, who sponsored the event, and his celebrity friend, Tony Orlando. All the Baby Boomers in the group know him from his act Tony Orlando and Dawn and for his song that became the anthem for returning Vietnam veterans, “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ’Round the Old Oak Tree.”
Tony first started helping veterans in 1973 when Bob Hope invited him to sing his iconic song at an event at the Cotton Bowl. Its purpose was to welcome home the prisoners of war and the other men and women who had served in Vietnam. That evening Tony had an epiphany.
“That night I went to church in Dallas. I get on my knees and said, ‘Dear God, if you bless me with continued success I’ll give you my word that I will work relentlessly on behalf of veterans.’ Since that day, God did bless me with a network television show, gold and platinum records…”
Tony continued, “Since 1973 that little song it has raised $175 million for veterans. That is not only a blessing for the veterans, but it’s also a blessing to me. It gave me a reason to sing to serve my country because when I went to enlist to serve in the Vietnam war, I was 4-F. I was so ashamed. But God had a different plan for me. My ‘rifle’ was a song.”
