Hike for Heroes - Veterans Mental Health funding

Hello! We are a group of military veterans who are looking to raise funds to support mental health therapy retreats for fellow veterans suffering from PTSD, suicidality, depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and other issues resulting from their military service and other life experiences.

Our goal is to raise awareness and funding for alternative mental health treatments for veterans. We are going to be conducting a 105-mile ruck march (also known as a road march with packs) from Miami, FL to the north along the Florida A1A highway. The ruck will kick off November 11th, 2023.

November 11th, 2023 is Veterans Day, and this year will be the 105th anniversary of the end of World War I. November 11th was initially established as Armistice Day in 1919, and was redesignated as Veterans Day in 1954 to honor veterans of all U.S. wars.

We are hoping to raise $105,000 through private donations and corporate charitable donations.

We will be providing funds to the Healing Our Heroes Foundation of Florida (https://www.healingourheroesflorida.org). The mission of Healing Our Heroes is to host specialized mental health and ketamine-assisted therapy retreats, offering a safe and nurturing space for participants to embark on healing and transformative journeys.

Ketamine-assisted therapy can offer dramatic improvements in quality of life for veterans suffering from mental health issues. Evidence has shown that after completing just two ketamine therapy sessions, over 85% of patients report improvement in depression or anxiety symptoms.

Healing Our Heroes is planning to host the next veterans retreat in Hawaii in March 2024. We aim to raise enough funds to make this a no-cost retreat for veterans selected to attend. Additional funding will be used for subsequent Hawaii retreats and also for planned Florida retreats.

We would love to have you be part of this amazing healing medicine. Beyond financial support, if you would like to support our ruck in any way or even join us along the route, please reach out and let us know!

Thank you so much for your support.Hike for Heroes Facebook page

Robert Koenig