National Veterans Wellness + Healing Center

The National Veterans Wellness and Healing Center in Angel Fire, Inc. (NVW&HC) is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization incorporated as a result of a study conducted by the Village of Angel Fire and the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services, alongside Angel Fire business and community partners. The mission of the NVW&HC is to establish an environment that is responsive to the needs of veterans and military families using creative therapies and processes that focus on emotional and physical healing. In 2009, NVW&HC began retreats for veteran families who had been diagnosed with PTS (Post Traumatic Stress). Eleven veterans and their spouses successfully completed the week-long retreat and have been celebrating their success since. We have continued to hold retreats every year since our inception some years being more successful with our fundraising than others allowing more couples to experience the healing methods. We continue to operate with private donations, grant funding and with the help of the State of New Mexico. Our focus is to provide tools for those couples that suffer with the Invisible Wounds of War and to assist with the reintegration into their families within their home communities.

National Veterans Wellness and Healing Center in Angel Fire has teamed with the State of New Mexico, New Mexico Department of Veterans Services, Angel Fire Resort, Cardinal Retreats, Balance-Out Mind Body Adventure Retreats, Roadrunner Tours, and the Native American community to create the programming included in our retreats. Such a team coupled with the “hands on” experience along with total community support are a unique and winning combination that guarantees successful accomplishment of the wellness retreats for veterans and active duty military families.

If you have experienced severe trauma or a life-threatening event, you may develop symptoms of posttraumatic stress, commonly known as posttraumatic stress disorder, shell shock, or combat stress. Maybe you felt like your life or the lives of others were in danger, or that you had no control over what was happening. Some of the most common symptoms of PTS include recurring memories or nightmares of the event(s), sleeplessness, loss of interest, or feeling numb, anger, and irritability, but there are many ways PTS can impact your everyday life. Sometimes these symptoms don’t surface for months or years after the event or returning from deployment. They may also come and go.

Testimonial: "I kept my PTS issues from RVN nicely tucked away in a “box” for many, many years. Then about 4 years ago they exploded out of the “box” when my son went to Afghanistan,........ To make a long story short, my life was about to turn to shit when I learned about the National Veterans Wellness and Healing Center of Angel Fire. This outfit offers week-long retreats to Veterans and their wives completely free of charge. My wife and I attended one of their retreats about three years ago and it was extremely beneficial for us. They recognize that your PTS will never completely go away so the give you a number of effective techniques to manage the triggers when they come. They also offer other therapy options that you can’t get at the VA."

Aside from the clinical approaches used to help the veterans, complementary alternative medicine such as yoga, guided imagery, emotional freedom techniques, Reiki, massage therapy, acupuncture, art therapy, energy psychology, and Native American ceremonies are used. The wellness and healing retreats have successfully incorporated the use of equine reintegration training into the program and connecting through nature. We strive to offer a selection of modalities for the couples to experience and discover what works best for them.

NVW&HC works hand in hand with the David Westphall Veterans Foundation in Angel Fire, NM. National Veterans Wellness and Healing Center of Angel Fire, Inc. | P.O. Box 805 | Angel Fire, NM 87710 | info@veteranswellnessandhealing.org | phone (575) 595 1971