NVWHC Participant Statements
Louis & Eileen
“My name is Louis Tenorio. I am Vietnam Veteran who served in 1971. Boots on the ground at 19 years old. I now suffer from severe Post Traumatic Stress and compromising medical conditions from Agent Orange exposure. My wife Eileen and I attended a NVWHC retreat in Angel Fire in the summer of 2021. Our lives were changed forever. We received counseling, non-traditional therapies and so much more. The retreat was organized with nothing but love, respect, understanding, and great professionalism. Our lives were changed so much that it is now our hope and dream that our experience can also belong to all of the veterans and their families that truly need it. If NVWHC had its own facility, it would mean that more veterans and their families could attend and receive healing. We would feel much more secure during the process and the bonding would be less stressful in a private setting that is designed to promote a greater sense of healing.. We are always and forever grateful to NVWHC and are excited for their future.”
Courtney
“I am a 100% disabled veteran and single Mom who had been hanging on to my very last thread. That is, until I found the National Veterans Wellness and Healing Center of Angel Fire. They literally saved my life; changed my life. Through their holistic healing of the mind and body, classes on PTS, talk therapy, yoga, Native American Indian practices, Reiki, massage therapy, chiropractic care and the kindness of the staff, I was able to heal and change my mindset. I was encompassed by a lifelong tribe that made me feel whole again. I can now thrive in life, rather than just survive. I am forever grateful to NVWHC and for the opportunity to attend. As a veteran that went through the program a couple of years back, which took place at a resort in Angel Fire, I can see why NVWHC would want their own facility to hold retreats and offer services to veterans. Although the resort was beautiful and accommodating, a healing space should be sacred and undisturbed. I feel the veterans NVWHC is serving, such as myself (having PTS and MST) would feel much more comfortable opening up and allowing transformation to take place with only the staff and other participants occupying the space. If you can imagine trying to heal from a traumatic event like being sexually assaulted and there are strangers nearby, healing can be more difficult. It would be a wonderful improvement in the program and its environment to remove the stressors from the equation by allowing more positive energy into the participants minds for healing and growth. As a veteran now helping serve and heal other veterans, it is most important to me that my fellow brother and sister receive the optimal and effective care that they deserve.”
Markus and Janice
“We attended a retreat in 2016 after waiting for three years to be accepted. We waited because funding for out-of-state veterans was unavailable (and continues to be a challenge). We committed to a lot of personal work during those three years and were in a truly different and beautiful place in our marriage when we were invited to attend a retreat in May 2016. The retreat we experienced was life altering! Our journey provided us with an opportunity to return to Angel Fire and join the NVWHC staff; allowing us the privilege of giving back to those who had given so much to us. Over the last 5 years, we have witnessed this organization grow in all the key areas necessary to make the leap forward towards establishing a permanent retreat facility. A private facility will provide a unique place solely dedicated to healing the minds, bodies and spirits of every visitor and retreat participant for years and years to come. For this dream to one day be reality, would not only be an answered prayer for us, but for countless other veteran families as well.”
