GRuB Victory Farmers

OUR ROAD TO VICTORY

As Victory Farmers, we believe that our community has a responsibility to create and enact the practices, ceremonies and rituals needed in order to welcome our warriors home; physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. 

Our service members, for better or worse, have derived great strength and defended our country, by falling in line. Upon their transition from service, the isolation of standing out, or having no line to fall in, shakes many to the core. This time of transition challenges their sense of identity; of the person they were trained to be. Transitioning service members have earned a standing invitation from the community to join our ranks, to re-humanize and establish a new identity, one that can fit them today, given everywhere they've been and all they've accomplished.   

Many veterans today are leaving service missing three important components to healthy living:  a clear purpose, a solid sense of identity and strong roots in community. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, an average of 22 veterans commit suicide daily, while only 1 in 3 access Department of Veterans Affairs services. The total number of service members who have died in the line of duty since 9/11 is 6,753, while more than 8,000 veterans per year take their own lives.
 
These statistics clearly clearly show that our current methods of addressing the needs of transitioning service men and women are ineffective. Many of our veterans are missing the community support they need to lead healthy lives after their military service.  
  
Edward Tick, PhD, a psychotherapist who is nationally recognized for his work with veterans and PTSD writes: 
 
"Key practices necessary to nurturing the warrior and protecting its morality, strength, integrity and beauty include Initiation, Restoration, and Return. Initiation is the process whereby our old self dies and a new, more mature, and wiser self evolves in its place. Restoration refers to bringing back the energies, beliefs, motivations, commitments, and loves of those who have been to war and may be depleted or disillusioned to the point of despair and brokenness. We restore spirit. Return refers not just to bringing troops out of harm's way but to complete homecoming for the whole person in body, mind, heart, and soul with meaning, honor, respect, and reintegration into community. When we practice these aright--and it is possible--we fill our communities with honorable, noble, wise elders who in turn serve and mature the society and it’s most needy."

OUR GOALS

Due to the high veteran population concentration in Washington State (6th highest in the country) and projected growth of the veteran population over the next 5 years in Thurston County (second highest in Washington state; our neighbor Pierce County is first), our community is uniquely positioned to take action. With your financial support, the GRuB Victory Farmers will:

• Mobilize a coalition of community based non-profits, veteran service organizations, local businesses and individuals to meet returning veterans where they are at.
• Equip our veterans with new tools in conflict mediation, facilitation, collaborative & multicultural communication, council practice, and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST).
• Empower veterans to utilize their unique skills and strengths to step out in community as leaders, speakers, and organizers in mutual support of newly transitioning veterans and their families; while strengthening the local food system.
• Cultivate a team of Veteran Guides trained in the wilderness rites of passage model who will assist other veterans to cross the threshold between soldier and civilian.  
• Train transitioning service members in small scale sustainable urban agriculture and permaculture design.
• Provide meaningful opportunities for veterans to engage with the natural world through day-long outdoor excursions and extended Wilderness Quests.

OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

We began our work with veterans just over a year ago, catalyzed by a veteran with a fellowship from The Mission Continues. We lined up a humble $7,000 budget and built a partnership with Growing Veterans, who has helped with project support and regional leadership.

We’ve grown rapidly and achieved some incredible feats, including: the launch and cultivation of the half acre veteran-led Victory Farm and donation of more than 2,000 pounds of produce to Crazy Faith Outreach. We’ve engaged more than 100 veterans, active duty and family members, inspiring 71 to become volunteers. These volunteers have contributed more than 2,700 hours, and helped build more than 150 backyard vegetable gardens with low-income families and community organizations.
 
To join us on the Road to Victory you can:

• Donate to our campaign.
• Invite a vet and their family out for coffee, over for dinner or to participate in a volunteer service event in your community.
• Volunteer at the Victory Farm, 718 Milas Ave NE, Olympia, WA 98506. We are open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 10am – 3pm and on Sundays from 11am to 3pm.