Shalam Ministries Ltd

We aim to mitigate the effects of trauma in the world, in the lives of trauma survivors and in the lives of those first on the scene of trauma (first responders).

A current focus is expanding the ministry by establishing an outdoor retreat center for first responders, military, and their families, called Hero's Rest. This retreat center will use the documented benefits of outdoor therapy as well as provide the privacy and security first responders need. Hero's Rest will be built on fifty-six acres of land in the Missouri Ozarks with the purpose of providing retreats of rest and relaxation in a natural, rugged, outdoor setting. Features of Hero's Rest will include fishing and camping opportunities, hiking trails, target practice, bushcraft studies, land stewardship, wildlife viewing, and other hands-on activities.

In addition to the therapeutic benefits of the retreat center, Hero's Rest will offer privacy, an element that is difficult to find at public campgrounds, lodges, or forest preserves, and difficult to afford elsewhere. On-site staff will provide the option to engage with community, should that be desired. All retreat stays will be donated. Recipients who are able will be given an opportunity to pay-it-forward.

Our goal is to provide a space designed to help with the specific struggles first responders are known to face when attempting to rest. We believe a space that is secluded, designed for rest, and yet also allows for physical exertion will allow for optimal down-time for these guests; rest which will help them to continue to serve with excellence. Shalam has acquired land for Hero's Rest in the Missouri Ozarks! We are centrally located with easy access to many cities including St. Louis, Memphis, Kansas City, Wichita, Springfield, Joplin, and Tulsa, with international access through those airports. We are even within a day's drive of Chicago, IL. We are in the construction phase now and aim to open in 2022. Please join us at herosrest.org.

An ongoing focus is our Trauma Support Program - started in 2013. The program's aim is to counter the devastating effects of trauma by providing the community of support that trauma survivors need. We make this community available to our clients at no cost to them. Our trauma support program has been running for over eight years and has served 401 beneficiaries.

Our Trauma Support Program uses two methods:
1. Encouragement through the healing process
2. Assistance to make healthy decisions

We aim to see more trauma survivors get the help they need, reach their healing goals, and eventually contribute to or build their own healthy communities. Learn more at shalam.org.

*“Shalam" means restoration unto completion. Jesus provides true healing and restoration to our deepest hurts. “Shalam" is the Hebrew word used in Joel 2:25 for restore… when God promises to “restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten." We offer the hope and restoration of Christ to everyone we serve.

To provide restful retreats for first responders, military, and their families, Shalam Ministries is constructing Hero's Rest in the Missouri Ozarks and is set to open phase one of Hero's Rest in 2022. Phase one will include six camping areas (from glamorous camping to rugged/survivalist camping), outdoor activities (fishing, hiking, bushcraft, etc.), an office, staff housing, and an on-site workshop. Phase one will allow us to start serving first responders and to gather data to refine and expand the Hero's Rest program. To join us in providing restful retreats to first responders, military, and their families, visit herosrest.org.

Our trauma support community program provides a support team for survivors that encourages, guides, and celebrates them through in-person meetings, phone contacts, and Skype utilizing crisis intervention, ongoing support, and mile-stone celebrations.

One devastating effect of surviving severe trauma is isolation. Few people can handle hearing about the anguish our clients have endured. Shalam Ministries fights against the isolation that results from trauma survivors being unable to share their story. We have trained support staff that are able to hear the worst without becoming overwhelmed. Listening to their story is the first step to bringing hope to the darkest scenarios, and begins the process of helping the client begin their healing journey.

We meet with each client individually and help them evaluate and acquire what they need for recovery. By providing a one-on-one support network that utilizes both phone and online video support sessions, we can reach survivors locally and around the world. We have shown survivors that reaching out can result in a safe connection. Our support sessions are less threatening than group sessions. Our support staff are themselves trauma survivors and can relate to and share with clients in a meaningful way. Additionally, once the survivor is ready to reach out to larger support groups or therapists, we provide a safety net - increasing the chances of the survivor staying engaged in the healing process in both community and one-on-one settings.

Shalam Ministries currently provides encouragement and guidance through the healing process and emotional and physical assistance to make healthy decisions. If they are not already in counseling, we encourage our clients to begin counseling and will help them find a counselor. We offer in person trauma support and over the phone support (often in the middle of the night and sometimes over many hours), on an ongoing as well as an as-needed basis. This extra support helps many of our clients continue to go to counseling as well as make other healthy decisions.

Shalam Ministries was founded in 2013 by Moody Bible Institute graduates, Rev. Ryan Hatch, his wife Cheryl Hatch, and their colleague Carissa Remillard. These 3 are our trauma support staff. They have been mentored in trauma recovery, are years into their own personal healing journeys, and continue to expand their knowledge of trauma and recovery through hundreds of hours of research and education.

With this small, full-time staff, Shalam Ministries has served thousands of service hours to over 400 clients. As stated above, our support staff are themselves trauma survivors and can relate and share with clients in a meaningful way. Each staff member brings an impressive set of skills that will aid in the success of Shalam Ministries and of Hero's Rest.

Ryan Hatch was raised on family land where he learned both the benefits of community and homesteading. His father built their family home, his uncle is an arborist, the whole family grew their own food, and Ryan is an avid learner. As a result, he is highly skilled in carpentry, land and forestry management, project management, sustainable living, gardening, and conservation. Having grown up on 7+ acres in northern IL farmland, he has an innate understanding of this geographic region. Ryan is also a visionary and an artist with an eye for design. He designs and builds live-edge furniture. He led renovations of a 1920's church, making the space less visually chaotic, to better serve the street youth who attended. For over a decade, Ryan has supported trauma survivors as they walk through their darkest struggles. He is highly adept at crisis-intervention.

Cheryl Hatch is a joyful peacemaker who shares the beauty and love of Christ with a hurting world. She spent fifteen months in Romania caring for abandoned babies and ministering to at risk mothers. Cheryl spearheads the trauma support program, helping women out of domestic abuse, familial abuse, sexual abuse, and more. She is eager to extend serve first responders and their families at Hero's Rest. Cheryl is instrumental in many administrative tasks such as accounting, web design, correspondence, and marketing. She is an accomplished musician and is experienced in caring for and training horses and hopes to use those skills in trauma therapy someday.

Carissa Remillard is a passionate minister of the Gospel and of the reality of the believer's union with Christ. While living in a church she also ministered at, she saw the need for in-depth counseling and healing for those at the edge of society, as well as rest for those who fight trauma. Carissa Remillard has been building her gardening skills for the past four years. During that time, she has learned how to plan, plant, structure, tend, and harvest a garden. She has seen the healing benefits of learning a new skill and of growing things. She hopes to share these skills with Hero's Rest guests. Carissa also works on the administrative tasks needed for Shalam Ministries to run smoothly.

Over the last eight years, Shalam Ministries has served and supported hundreds of victims of severe trauma – parents suffering the loss of a child, sexual and domestic abuse victims, adults facing the painful results of being abused as a child, and some recovering from being lured into a cult. Shalam Ministries has served over 400 clients since its inception. In 2016 alone, Shalam Ministries provided over 5,000 service hours to 103 clients, helping them get into counseling and offering support that encouraged them to “stay the course" in their healing.

Some examples of clients Shalam Ministries (SM) has served (some details changed to protect client privacy):

1. A widow serving in a foreign context struggled with panic attacks. – A colleague referred her to SM. Staff helped her find a counselor and provided crisis phone support, getting her through her worst panic attacks. She grew in her confidence and decisiveness. When she found out that a coworker was abusing children, she quickly called the police and oversaw the situation to its conclusion.

2. A man abused as a child began to realize that his childhood trauma was affecting his current relationships. – SM staff met many times with the man to talk about his childhood. Each time the staff confirmed that certain elements of his childhood were not normal and expressed sorrow over the abuse suffered. SM staff discussed the benefits of counseling and talked through why this route could be helpful. The staff offered continuous phone consultation and assistance in finding a good counselor.

3. A woman and her child escaped from a life-threatening, domestic abuse situation. They could afford a place to live, but were sleeping on the floor. They lacked basic furniture and utensils. – SM hosted a furniture drive which fully furnished the woman's home, supplied her with dishes and cooking utensils, and gave her child 20 new gift-wrapped toys. Since most of the furniture was used, a SM staff member with carpentry skills refurbished and restored the items before delivering them. SM staff had the opportunity to share the gospel with the client when delivering the furniture. They offered continued support through regular phone and in person meetings.

Shalam Ministries has operated on a “shoe string" grassroots budget since founding and yet has managed to balance its budget every year. We grew by $10,000+ annually, operating under $100,000 each year, until 2020. That year, Shalam successfully ran our first development campaign for start-up funds for Hero's Rest, raising $330,836, $10K over our stretch goal. We continued that growth with our largest annual fundraiser in 2021.

The next steps are to 1) expand our Board of Directors and 2)launch the Hero's Rest Retreat center. A larger board with an increased skill set will help Shalam Ministries grow beyond being a "grassroots" organization. Hero's Rest will allow us to serve more clients through restful retreats and will be our base of operations.