Who Saved Who?
When you hear about a couple adopting a teenage boy, the immediate response is usually: “Wow, what a beautiful thing you did. You rescued him.”
But if you ask me, I’d tell you that I was the one who received so much life from meeting our son, Mike. With his permission, we are sharing our family’s story with you today.
Janie and I met Mike in 2000 when he was 14 years old, and he came to live with us a few months later and brought so much life to our family and friends. As is true with many kids from broken homes, he carried a heavy, complex baggage of childhood trauma, which I realized as time went on, acted like a mirror, triggering deep-seated spaces inside of me that I had spent years avoiding. His arrival meant I could no longer look away from what I hadn’t wanted to deal with in my own life. I reached out and sought help to attend to my own healing so I could be the father he needed.
Nearly four years after Mike came to be a part of our family, we officially adopted him at age 18 in front of our County’s Juvenile Court Judge. Two months later, he fulfilled his childhood dream and was sworn in the United States Marine Corps, entering boot camp in June 2004 at MCRD in San Diego.
Mike didn't just join our family; he planted a seed in our hearts for our Veterans that grew to be a mission to help post-9/11 Veterans not have to carry the weight of their experiences alone.
A Journey Born from Experience
We have witnessed firsthand the lasting impact of military service through Mike’s eight years in the USMC, including combat deployments to Afghanistan (OEF) and Iraq (OIF), and training national security forces in Africa (MTT), and have worked with many Veterans through Veterans Treatment Courts since 2021.
More often than not, Veterans need help covering the high costs of care beyond what their insurance covers, which is why we formed Veterans Health + Wellness Alliance (VH+WA).
Our mission is raising funds for post-9/11 Tennessee Veterans so that they can receive integrative and root-cause care and support services from trusted practitioners. All at no cost to our Veterans.
How You Can Be Part of the Solution
We are looking for a community of people to stand with VH+WA to financially support our mission. When you give to our organization, your money doesn’t disappear into an administrative black hole. We believe in transparency, meaning our donors aren’t kept in the dark about how your funds were used.
We believe that every Veteran that VH+WA serves carries a story worth telling, and if both parties consent to do so, we give the opportunity to meet the Veteran(s) you have helped.
Thank you in advance for your belief in our mission, your generosity, and your support. Together, we can ensure no post-9/11 Veteran in Tennessee walks the road to health and freedom alone.
Ken Garber enjoys his work with Veterans as a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor (LADAC II) in Franklin, Tennessee’s Williamson County Veterans Treatment Court, as well as with private clients in the community, and teaching a family education program for those who have loved ones in treatment. Janie and Ken have been married for nearly 40 years and love spending time with their son and his family, as well as friends near and far, eating great food, and exploring new places together.