Veterans raising money to provide scholarships for combat veterans with PTSD/TBI/Addiction to attend The Sheepdog Program, a non-Department of Veterans Affairs Addiction/Mental health Services Facility.

For the past four years we have experienced the fire hoop jumping required by The Department of Veterans Affairs for veterans to receive Community Care Referrals to a non-VA affiliated program. The VA affiliated programs should NOT be a veteran's only choice for addiction therapy. In my experience, the programs have negative reviews and lack long term success for the combat veteran community.

As a US Army Medic veteran and a social work major, I have been advocating for my fellow veterans to have the choice of entering into a 28day program of their choice for addiction services. After having so many of my brothers and sisters come to me for help with addiction and mental health due to their military service and realizing the impossible hurdles put in our way, I decided to take action to provide the funds needed for veterans to help veterans get the help they deserve. Through research and interviewing I found a program created by a combat veteran blown up in the war who took his own experience with 'the suck' and got the education and skills to help other combat veterans facing 'the suck.' After learning about his program and it's success, I reached out to the founder of the Sheepdog Program, Adrian Marquez Reconnaissance Marine and Marine Special Operations veteran, and decided to create fundraising opportunities for the American public to directly provide financial assistance to real combat veterans unhappy with the VA and desperately in need of a program made by veterans for veterans.

I DO NOT have any financial gain set up with The Sheepdog Program, I AM NOT employed or on staff by part of it. I am simply a combat medic veteran sick of trying like hell to get the VA to help my fellow veterans and being hit with brick walls and doors slammed in our faces. I am a veteran who has been through the services offered by the VA and sick to my core at how terrible the programs are. I am frustrated with wounded warrior project and semper fi fund and all the other organizations that we are told to contact for help and spending weeks of phone calls and assessments and emails only to have the veterans denied funds for some reason or another. I can't sit back and watch one more veteran willing to get help, willing to go, ready to go, accepted into The Sheepdog Program but can't go because we can't get the VA to approve the referral or veteran's organizations to agree to fund their stay.

Help me help my combat veteran brothers and sisters!

-Donate money to sponsor a veteran into The Sheepdog Program for 28 days costing $6,300 for program services and lodging per veteran

-Organize a fundraising event and I will arrange for combat veteran speakers to attend the event! We could work together to make it a special night for you and your friends and families! Maybe a reason for a masquerade dance or themed dress up night? We could raffle dances with our veteran guest speaker or give out photos and stories of veterans who need to be sponsored. I have a few combat veterans from OIF and OEF willing to travel the US with me raising money for this cause. We will dress up and tell about our experiences in war and coming home, we will raffle dances or dinner dates, we will pose for photos or hand out appreciation challenge coins at your events. We are willing to make your event a special way to put your charitable donation directly to a real combat veteran's need.

We will promise that other than expenses we need to keep this fundraiser going we will put every dollar into the cause.

Thank you for considering us!!

https://www.thesheepdogprogram.com/