Helping Veterans and Service Personnel

Veterans Programs

Our programs for service personnel include programs and support for their spouses and families because we understand that when one person serves, so does their family.

Meet Mark & Watch his Story

I’m Mark. I retired from the United States Air Force as a deputy fire chief. I also participate in the High Hopes Veteran’s Program and I am a current volunteer. I served 30 years and was deployed to Iraq, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. I retired from service and was subsequently diagnosed with PTSD. The Equus Effect program and my connection with Latino at High Hopes was something that saved me. Sometimes all it took was the smell of the barn and the hay that made me feel like it was okay to just be me.

Families Serve Too!

Children of veterans are a population generally underserved by traditional veterans programs, which tend to focus more on the service member and their spouse or partner. We created a program that focussed on character building, emotional regulation, team building, and communications. While some of the participants had ridden before; none had experienced the learning, confidence building, and self-esteem that can come from caring for and working with a horse in the barn.

The bond participants developed with their horses provided a low-key and trusting environment in which they could share their experiences of parents being deployed, or returning from deployment. All our participants and many parents commented on how important it was that everyone in the program “was in the same boat,” with shared experiences and shared emotions; something that is not the case in educational settings.