Our Story
From one veteran to another
Dan Knott, LTC, US Army (Ret), Founder of Hold Fast
After spending 22 years in the Army as an attack helicopter pilot, most of which was with the Joint Special Operations Command with a dozen combat deployments, I was broken. I didn’t want to admit it and continued “the act” until I broke. My brokenness meant that my marriage was trashed, my wife and kids were having issues of their own and my friends and family had been pushed away. I was drinking heavily and taking many unnecessary risks. It came to head when I felt like a burden to the world and nearly allowed my suppressed anger and rage to unleash on a person and then end it all.
Unfortunately, this story–my story–is all too common with those suffering PTSD from the effects of military service. The official numbers range from 17-22 suicides per day by veterans (over 50% higher than civilian counterparts) and in reality, the unofficial, life-ending decisions or behaviors are likely many times higher (VA 2021 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report).
What I Did: I went to the water, the same water that my grandfather worked on. Working on the water allowed me the time and space to slowly open up to others. This allowed me to realize that my story was not uncommon and I needed help to survive and that asking for help was OK. I learned to find my way to a life that I wanted to live. I am now at the point where I want to share this experience with others.
This is why I created Hold Fast. I am combining the mindfulness found from working on the water with an individualized integrative therapy program. This non-profit will provide veterans opportunities to connect with nature and other veterans while harvesting and growing seafood, creating and restoring oyster reefs and cleaning up and protecting shorelines. The program will provide veterans with opportunities to work on themselves and with their familie to obtain deserved veterans benefits, participate in an array of integrative therapy options, and/or enter a career path of working on the water. There is no one size fits all when it comes to life after combat, which is why Hold Fast is designed to help you Find Your Way.
Nick Barnes – Director of Operations
I am not sure how you got here, you may know you need help or maybe you are unsure and want to see what we are all about. Maybe you are in a good place and have a desire to help others. Whatever your reason, we are extremely grateful you are here.
For those of you helping others, thank you. I know you aren’t doing it for praise, you are doing it because it’s what you do, it’s what you’ve always done over the course of your career in the military or as a first responder. The Tribe we are all apart of is a very large community. One of the unwritten rules we have all followed is the idea that we won’t leave anyone behind and if you need help you can count on people to help you. That is the foundation of what we are doing, veterans and first responders helping each other.
For those of you that are here because you are struggling, I commend you on your bravery and courage. Even though we were taught differently, true strength lies in our ability to admit we need help and then putting in the work to get better. Standing up and doing those two things will be biggest inspiration you can give to others. You are an example that shows people it is okay to ask for help, even though it is hard. And by doing that, you will inspire others to go down the same path you did towards a healthier and happier life.
Our program’s success lies in our peer-to-peer connection, community, working in nature and integrated therapy. It is so much easier to open up and talk to someone who has served and knows the hardships and stress you have faced that other people in your life have no idea about. It’s why I have found myself opening up to a veteran that I just met and sharing more with them in an hour than I have told my wife and closest friends in 15 years. For me, part of it is knowing my friends and family will try to understand but they just won’t be able to. And the other part is I didn’t want to burden my loved ones with everything I was going through. That is what makes our program different. This is a program run by veterans because we have been where you are now, and we know there is a better way to live. Whether you were a soldier fighting a war overseas or firefighter battling a burning down building, you always had help, people you could count on. You didn’t battle all alone while you were serving, why would you battle what is arguably the toughest fight of your life all alone? You shouldn’t and you don’t have to, we are here. This program isn’t designed to just give people a week to forget about their problems, that isn’t sustainable, and those problems will come back as soon as you return home. Our program is designed to teach you how to unpack the things that are eating away at you and set you up to deal with them in a healthy way for the rest of your life so you can find your way back to your true self. No one should have to go through life hurting, empty and detached from experiences caused by trauma, especially when that trauma comes from service.
I have said along with so many others that I would die for my brothers and sisters in this Tribe that we are all apart of. I would and I am sure there are people in your life you would do the same for. I will ask you this, would you live for them? Would you wake up each day knowing that it is going to be hard and despite that, fight and do whatever it takes to get healthy? Would you help break the stigma of what true strength looks like and get the help you need, serving as an example for others to follow? Dying is easy but living despite the challenges and hardships you face day in and day out is much harder. To be the best spouse, parent, friend and sibling you can be, you need to find your way to the best you, that journey starts here.
Dr. Deanna Beech – Clinical Services Director
At Hold Fast we approach the needs of our Veterans from a comprehensive perspective. We believe it is essential to bring together individuals who share the bond of having been a part of the privileged sacrifice of service to our country to create a community where Veterans work together and help each other. Helping each other through adversity is at the core of what it means to be a Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine. As the first Veteran that completed our program put it, “I came because Dan said he needed my help, and then I got more help than I have received in the last six years.” Recent research into peer support programs supports this statement. It has been found that peer support can help overcome skepticism about therapy and the ongoing stigma against seeking mental health treatment (Bettmann et al., 2021). Peer support also normalizes their experiences and fosters a sense of being understood (Schorr, 2015), while avoiding the loss of pride and feeling of being disempowered that can come with asking for help.
By helping each other work in a nature environment while contributing to the community, our Veterans feel the emotional and physiological effects that flow from helping others (Aknin & Whillans, 2021; Curry et al., 2018). Not only does it feel good to help others, their contribution is also valued and has purpose. To put the necessity of this into perspective, a retired MSG succinctly explained that he still “wants to serve, to make an impact” and finding a job that allows for this “is the single most important aspect of my successful transition.” Not only is there purpose in caring for each other at Hold Fast, the Waterman work that brings the group together provides resources for the individual Veteran while sustaining the program to make it possible for other Veterans to get the help they need.
The importance of community support in the healing and recovery process for our Veterans has begun to find research support (Demers, 2011; Gorman et al., 2018) as it addresses the chronic challenges that our Veterans face as they transition from the service (Ahern, 2015; Danish & Antonides, 2013; Hawkins et al, 2015). By participating in the Hold Fast program our Veterans become part of our community which we believe, as posited by Sebastian Junger (2016), reduces isolation because they are an esteemed part of our “Tribe.”
Working on the water provides the perfect backdrop for the work-based activity in the Hold Fast program. Not only has it been shown that work-based programs are beneficial (Resnick & Rosenheck, 2008), being part of an outdoor adventure brings in well documented benefits of engaging with nature (Capaldi, Dopko & Zelenski, 2014; Pearson & Graig, 2014, Varning Poulsen, 2017) and being part of a new adventure with other Veterans (Wagenfeld et al., 2013).
Additionally, Hold Fast will provide careful assessment of each Veteran’s needs as outlined above in Sections B2iv-v, along with a range of evidence-based treatments that support our Veteran’s active engagement in recovery through the use of elements of Narrative Therapy, Prolonged Exposure Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness, and Yoga. Other treatment supports to include consultation with a medical provider will be arranged through our community network.
