Retired veterans Bret and Gleny Archbold on Veterans Healing Farm fly fishing adventure
By Emma Castleberry
The Veterans Healing Farm is a nonprofit that works to enhance the mental, emotional and physical well-being of veterans and their families through community events, workshops and agritherapy (farming and gardening as therapy).
The Farm was founded by John and Nicole Mahshie in 2013 on John’s mother’s property. Executive director Alan Yeck and director of operations Megan Landreth took over in January of 2022. “Our vision is an end to veteran suicide,” says Yeck. “There is so much pain and darkness that continues to take our brothers and sisters every day.”
“We want to make this a place where veterans not only come to work in the garden or take a workshop but a place they feel is their home and their family,” says Landreth. “We meet them where they are mentally and let them know that the farm is there for them and is a safe place to just be themselves.”
The Veterans Healing Farm aims to temper the often isolating experience of being a veteran with non-pharmaceutical solutions and mindfulness. “Veterans that have been impacted by trauma tend to be alone, even within the family unit,” says Yeck. “I mean they’ll go to work, you’ll see them in the grocery store—they do the things required in life, but then return to a very small protected footprint. The reality is that isolation only increases anxiety, stress and depression.”
The Veterans Healing Farm is not a clinical space for treatment—it’s a place for respite, community and, as the name suggests, healing. “All of our workshops follow best practices of current known therapies and therapeutic programming,” says Yeck. “We cast a wide net to allow our veteran community to try different ones and see what works best for them.”
Equine, canine, neurofeedback, art and music therapies are available at the Farm. Workshops that invite mindfulness through hands-on creation are also a central offering, including making medicinal herbs and jam, canning vegetables, mushroom foraging and blacksmithing. Last year, 477 participants attended 49 workshops. “This year we’ve exceeded that,“ says Yeck.
The farm has an intentionally low bar for entry, not requiring veterans to show any military discharge documents or medical referrals to participate. “The more requirements or hoops that a veteran has to jump through, the less likely they will come or continue coming,” says Yeck. “At the Farm, we start with our shared military culture. No other demographic matters.”
Tim Grutzius, a yoga instructor and US Army Veteran who relocated to Flat Rock from Illinois in June of 2020, says the Farm has become an essential part of his life. Grutzius has attended a number of workshops at the farm, including a month-long workshop with service dogs from Warrior Canine Connection, and has also led yoga and meditation classes at the farm. “The connection with Mother Earth through farming provides a chance to be in the moment and discover a path to healing,” he says. “When I talk about the farm, I always say, ‘Where there is dirt, there is healing.’”
Mary Bonnett, the wife of a Vietnam veteran, volunteers at the Farm. “I find such peace and renewal each time I am walking through the garden,” she says. “I feel so appreciated and valued as a person. Being part of the Veterans Healing Farm family, for that is what it has become for me, has touched my heart and soul.”
Ken Sampler, right, of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association, and Megan Landreth hand out produce to veterans and caregivers at Charles George VA Medical Center
The Farm took a blow in January of this year, when they learned their lease would not be renewed in August. After nine months of searching, the Veterans Healing Farm recently established its own property at 138 Kimzey Road in Mills River.
The property needs both structural and landscaping work, which is planned in three phases for the coming year. “We will be fully operational in January of 2025 with all three legs of our programming; agritherapy (produce, flowers, beekeeping, tomatoes), workshops and veteran-focused events back online,” says Yeck. “We’ll continue implementing the phases as we go, but not rushing it. It’s important to listen to the land in creating a safe, peaceful environment that can be enjoyed for decades to come.”
Landreth and Yeck envision a farm for every major VA medical center, serving veteran populations all across the country. “It’s a place of peace, healing, love and light for our veteran community—veterans, family, caregivers and volunteers,” says Yeck. “The healing power behind camaraderie, community, nature, mindfulness and purpose are always in play with everything we do.”
For more information, visit VeteransHealingFarm.org, or contact 828.595.6111 or veteranshealingfarm@gmail.com.
