HELP OUR WOUNDED FOUNDATION

Our Vision is: Everyone has access to hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Good health and wellbeing: \nAn example, from our Veteran Investment Program:\nOnce veterans physically return to the US ecosystem from serving overseas, their presence affects their families and communities. Veterans often feel a mixture of overwhelming emotions: loneliness, misunderstood, frustration, and suffering from brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder. Some veterans learn how to manage these feelings on their own but many of them do not. Pent up emotions, without healthy coping mechanisms in place, can result in violent outbursts that damage relationships within their homes. Spouses, caregivers, and children are emotionally or physically abused, causing an even deeper divide between veterans and their families. Not being able to see the brain injuries lying beneath the surface, spouses and caregivers are sometimes baffled at what they can do to reduce their partner\u2019s anger. Children witness their parents fighting, which affects their ability to correctly control their own emotions or emulate a proper role model. It also results in student adverse childhood experiences (or ACES). In turn, this can cause stunted emotional development, setting the child up for a future of challenges in acquiring healthy coping mechanisms. This can negatively affect the future community of South Palm Beach County, by in some cases requiring the children to be removed from the parent\u2019s custody and placed in a stable foster home.\n\nAddressing veterans\u2019 mental and physical health is upstream of numerous situations that can result in a creating toxic home environment. Therefore, it is critical we address these causes of veterans\u0027 suffering. Doing so will not only elevate the veteran him/herself, but it also affect the health and wellbeing of their nucleic family and the greater community. \n\n---\nPartnerships: \nWe believe we can accomplish more working with other organizations than just on our own. Think of the brain as a computer. You can have amazing software, but if there\u0027s no hardware to run it on, it doesn\u0027t matter how good your software may be. Brain injuries cause damage to your brain\u0027s hardware. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy helps rebuild the hardware of the brain. That\u0027s our specialty. However, psychological constructs form the software. Providing psychological services is not something we specialize in and lies beyond our skill set. \n\nHOW Foundation cannot be a comprehensive answer for everyone with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injuries. We recognize our limitations and provide referrals to organizations that can provide additional supportive care for cases that require structural supports that are beyond our skill set. \n\nSome examples of our partnering organizations: Grey Team Inc., Wounded Veterans Relief Fund, Support22Project, UnifiedDream, Athletes\u0027 Risk Management\n---\n\nFor more information, please visit our website at www.HOWFoundationSF.org

Our team members contribute to the success of the HOW Foundation. We are fortunate to have leading experts in a wide range of disciplines who are eager to support the Foundation (e.g., research, financial, medical, hyperbaric, first responders, philanthropic...etc.). Our strong collaborative methods, open dialogue, and facilities make us uniquely qualified to help those in our community.\r\n\r\nBy growing our Board, Foundation Ambassadors, and Alumni groups, we are constantly diversifying our means of being able to reach out and engage different groups across the United States. \r\n\r\nFor more information, please visit www.HOWFoundationSF.org.

We turned 6 years old, which is an accomplishment, especially given the difficulties faced this past year in the pandemic. Over those 6 years, we have provided 2,231 treatments of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for people in need. Last March, it became clear COVID-19 would be a mental health pandemic, and we felt the repercussions from that by setting a record for the most people served in one year (29) and the most treatments provided in one year (704). \n\nOutreach:\nThis past year, our volunteers donated over 375 hours, which translates to $9,053.00 of donated time and service. These volunteers have assisted us with successfully engaging our community in activities to support veterans, the military community, and brain health. \n\nCollaborations:\nOver the past two years, we have partnered with other nonprofits assisting veterans. Some of these partnerships have been to provide additional modalities of healing therapies (Grey Team, Unified Dream, Connected Warriors), others have been to provide veterans with direct financial support (Wounded Veterans Relief Fund) and others have been to expand our reach and the number of veterans we can help in coordinated efforts with other nonprofits that have similar missions (Mission 22, America\u0027s Mighty Warriors, Support 22 Project).\n\nWhat\u0027s Next:\nWe are extremely excited to launch Operation Phoenix -- a program that will change the face of veteran wellness in South Florida. A targeted, focused effort between HOW Foundation and GreyTeam Inc. will help transitioning veterans by repairing physical damage caused to the brain through hyperbaric oxygen therapy, restoring the body to achieve peak physical fitness through training and nutrition, and rejuvenating the soul by connecting with nonprofits to find a sense of service beyond self after military separation. Sign up for our newsletter on our website (www.howfoundationsf.org) for more information and to learn about our launch date!\n\nAwards:\n2016: Boynton Beach Nonprofit of the Year\n2017: Business Person of the Year, Sarah Crane\n2019: Impact 100 of Southern Palm Beach County Finalist\n2019: Association of Fundraising Professionals of Palm Beach County Veteran Service Organization of the Year\n\nFor more information on our recent accomplishments, please visit www.HOWFoundationSF.org or find us on Facebook.