What started as a dream to give injured soldiers and first responders a home away from home while receiving medical treatment in the Lower Mainland, is now bigger than even the founder could have imagined.
New Westminster-based Honour House has expanded thanks to a generous partnership with a couple living near Kamloops. Rick and Donna Wanless live on a 25-acre ranch that runs parallel to the Thompson River in the Interior. Last year, the pair contacted Honour House founder, director and president Honourary Lt. Col. Allan De Genova with an idea of sharing their property with the non-profit society.
De Genova said Wanless and his wife wanted to give back to the first responder community. Wanless told De Genova that many years ago he was injured riding his horse and it was thanks to paramedics that he survived.
“He said, ‘This would be your place to run a post-traumatic stress program, if you feel it’s so needed,’” De Genova recalled.
And thus Honour Ranch was born.
“We knew it was a perfect place to run a post-traumatic stress program because, as you know, Honour House is a home away from home while (first responders and soldiers) getting treatment. The ranch will become that home for treatment,” De Genova said.
The ranch includes eight horses, a large gazebo and a small cottage, but its real appeal is the peaceful retreat it’ll offer first responders and veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While Honour Ranch celebrated its official opening back in October, De Genova has big plans for the property.
By next spring, De Genova hopes to build three more cottages for the property, which would bring capacity up to 16 people at a time. He also wants to have mental health professionals on site to help first responders and veterans who come to the ranch. There will also be an equine therapy program on site (using the Wanless’ eight horses that already live on the ranch).
Once Honour Ranch is ready to go, it will be a place for first responders and veterans to get the necessary help they need, De Genova said.
“In some cases, it’s just as much as getting away for a weekend with the family because he or she has been struggling on the job,” he added.
Until then, Honour House Society is accepting donations of any kind to help outfit the new location. For more on Honour House Society, its initiatives and how to donate, visit https://honourhouse.ca.
