Since June 2012 when Spring Reins of Life (SRoL) opened our arena gates to combat veterans we have served over 800 through three different programming options. In 2014 SRoL became the first Eagala Model program to earn the designation of "Military Service Provider" and have retained this certification annually since.
Lyons Campus Inpatient Trauma Unit PTSD Veterans (Weekly Visits): SRoL began serving the inpatient trauma PTS(d) units at Lyons VA Hospital in June 2012 with the combat unit. In 2014 we expanded services and funding to include the women's and the domiciliary units. Currently, we continue to serve veterans from Lyons campus each Wednesday morning and the total number of veterans we have served now exceeds 800. Over the years SRoL has improved the coordination and focus of the program each week to address specific issues the veterans attending the program are dealing with as identified by the VA staff. We continue to get extremely positive feedback on the success of Operation Horse.
ASG/VA-Eagala Federally Funded Grant F2020 EAP for Veterans PTSD: In 2019 Eagala won a national federally funded grant where 15 programs across the country would pilot EAP services for veterans with PTSd. SRoL represented the state of NJ and led the nation in “group work”. In 2020 this grant was expanded and triple increased. There are still several issues that need to be addressed, especially with recruiting, but the funding commitment by the VA shows their support of EAP for veterans’ mental health.
Our request for support for 2020 other than general funding is primarily needed for Lyons’ trauma unit groups. While the new VA grant is reimbursed, the recruiting is quite challenging. The ongoing hospital groups are completely recruited but funded solely by SRoL. For the past 7 years, we have been very successful at providing incredible service, adequate funding, and memorable results. SRoL relies on donations from generous supporters to keep this program running. The annual cost is over $30,000, depending on the number of sessions we have. Funds appropriated to “Operation Horse” are directly related to saving lives of New Jersey veterans.
Oh, and...
NJHCS-VA 2019 Therapy Animal of the Year: Our newest horse, Miss Molly just won the annual 2019 Therapy Animal of the Year from the New Jersey Department of Veteran Affairs. The staff and veterans at Lyons campus nominated and voted for Molly and the award was presented on November 7, 2019.
