Our son was killed on May 3, 2007 in Iraq. I quit my job and began immediately working with military charities, both local and national. When we moved to Flat Rock, NC i began to look for a charity here. After visiting Veterans Healing Farm and speaking with the founder I knew immediately this was it. They are so wonderful. Barely making a living wage and giving all the money to VHF. They donate thousands of pounds to veterans every year. They hold classes and seminars to help soldiers suffering from PTSD deal with this terrible affliction. I have seen veterans working in the gardens whose hands have seen death and destruction. Now their hands bring life, bring food and help to those who have served their country. God Bless you VHF!!!
An amazing place for the Veteran Community!
So fortunate to have a space like this made available by the Mahshie's.
Veterans Healing Farm is all about Giving.Giving away fresh organic produce and flowers, giving knowledge in workshops on herbs, bees, roses and more, giving opportunities to learn all about growing food to Veterans for Veterans. Loving energy permeates the beautiful grounds, all of the gardens and structures created with love and healing for all Veterans involved which has been hundreds. It is imperative for this place to continue for it has an important spiritual purpose at this time on this Earth. I am a workshop teacher who has experienced the love and the healing first hand.
I discovered the existence of the Veterans Healing Farm by accident - although I am a veteran and live a couple of miles from it. I volunteered to help them pick flowers to give away to veterans, the helpless and the needy. What this small band of people have put in motion is just astonishing. Acres and acres of vegetables and fruits and flowers thoughtfully planted and faithfully attended. Everything grown is given away with love. All the volunteers I met were ex-military and were there to give back or to heal in a peaceful environment. The only problem I see is that more people don't know about Veterans Healing Farm. It is a much needed place of calm and giving in a restless and unforgiving world.
I am a veteran and I know there is not much out there government wise for me. That is one reason why the Veterans Healing Farm has such a great positive impact - the need. The comradery of the military is what we miss so when we retire. Not only does the VHF give vegetables and flowers to people and make their day, but it trains people, it mentors people, it gives friendship and fellowship. It is a truly marvelous asset in our community. Get involved with it - you will never regret it!!
Absolutely outstanding is how I’d describe this awesome non-profit. I am 100% disabled Desert Storm combat Veteran with severe PTSD and they invited me to attend a growing organic rose workshop for horticulture therapy totally free to me. I was treated with respect and kindness and it helped so much that I became a Tennessee Master Gardener to help other Veterans
This was truly a life changing experience. From the time we arrived until the time we left we were treated amazingly. The educational component was filled with great information and lots of hands on training. The food was great and the down time was filled with great memories. I will be coming back to the Veterans Healing Farm and assisting in any way I can. Thanks again for an amazing program conducted by incredible people.
The Veterans Healing Farm is a unique organization with a place where veterans can come together and connect. I appreciate the strong sense of community and service to others. I was humbled by the generosity and compassion I experienced here. The VHF impacts so many veterans directly and also has indirect affects on those veterans' different communities.
This is a great group with incredibly dedicated leadership! They show true grit and determination to help veterans in this area and are welcome to any volunteers who just want to help and get their hands dirty.
After dealing with a lot of suicidal veteran friends, I finally have a place where I can refer my military veteran buddies who just need to heal. They have wonderful volunteer opportunities, give fresh produce to the local VA, and give free training to the veterans at times.
I've watched this organization grow from its initial conception into a thriving non-profit micro-community and training program that it is today. I never cease to be amazed at the innovation and dedication on display there. Each time I visit, there is a new cutting-edge farming technique in practice, or a new vision for developing the land and the resources available to them. It's founder's passion for helping veterans and giving them new skills and a thriving community is boundless, and it has now proven that it can survive even natural disasters. I support them whenever I can; I only wish I lived closer so I could visit more often.
Please learn more about this organization and consider supporting them however you can. And if you're in the area, get in touch and pay them a visit! Truly amazing to see.
I did everything I was "supposed to do" to ensure a "good" life.
I graduated High School and joined the Air Force at 17.
Twelve years of service and 4 deployments later, with a college degree, a top-secret clearance, and no gaps on my resume, I decided I should hang up my uniform.
Now I remember the great feeling I had when for the first time in over a decade I didn't have to shave every day. But I remember the fear and confusion when I started getting rejection letters during my transition to civilian life.
"Overqualified" or "we decided to go a different direction" slapped me across the face again and again.
I went from having people I could trust to have my back, to feel like I had nothing.
I remember waking up to the situation one day and remembered being told that I could never be a civilian again, but that I would become a veteran.
The Veterans Healing Farm is what every Veteran needs.
We need a place where we belong and can join a tribe of others who have gone through the same transition.
Obviously, having knowledge of the resources out there makes a huge difference. Having the wisdom of what other veterans have done helps a lot too.
A community is something I love and something I hate at the same time. It's something we need, and something we may not want. I don't want to feel like I need charity, and the Veterans Healing Farm does a wonderful job of accomplishing community via projects and boot camps that don't make it feel like charity but integrate the healthy actions we all need.
Even though I'm living hours away, I know that if I need them, I have people at the Veterans Healing Farm who would lay down in traffic for me and knowing that makes all the difference in the world.
If you're in a position to support financially or some other way, just call them. They likely won't ask for it, but without gas, the car stops moving and people like me need this organization to survive, so we can survive.
Previous Stories
I got back from a long deployment to an empty apartment in a small college town during summer when even the students weren't around. I couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right, and I felt all alone. I remember wishing that I never came home, and then I remember how crazy I felt since deployment wasn't enjoyable for so many reasons. I decided that the only way I could avoid jumping out of my skin was to drive. So I got in my car and I drove all the way to New England where my family lives. All I can say is that I wish I could have been a part of something like the Veterans Healing Farm back then. Our military is important, and our veterans are important. If we really care, we need more organizations like this! I highly recommend the Healing Farm and wish I lived closer to them to get involved even more!
The work that Veterans Healing Farm does, the good that they do with and for local veterans is unmatched. They truly exist to help. That's it. No other ulterior motive. Understanding how engaging in simple gardening practices helped with his own PTSD, John Mahshie wanted to make this help available to others. And, so he made it happen with Veterans Healing Farm. Not only do vets working on the farm get the cathartic benefit of helping with planting, caring for, and harvesting vegetables and flowers, but what is harvested is then donated to local veterans! This is an organization that I am happy to support. This is something that would have benefited my son. So, in his honor, I will create a fundraising campaign for VHF ever year on my son's birthday. And, I have started smaller fundraising campaigns, as well as donated to campaigns started by others, and will continue to do so. I don't have loads of money to donate to any 501c3, so please know that my donations are a reflection of how strongly I support the mission of Veterans Healing Farm! Keep up the great work!
Our company, Environmental Chimney Service, recently toured the Veterans Healing Farm and found it to be a very worthwhile and respectable organization. We are looking forward to working together this fall.
As one who provides services to our Veterans with the assistance of our equine team, we have been following the story and growth of the Veterans Healing Farm for the last 3 yrs. Their complete dedication and selflessness to supporting Veterans and their healing/wellness is just above and beyond. We know that their mission will touch many Veterans lives, as it has already!
Maurette Hanson, Healing Horse Therapy Center, www.healinghorse.org
I have visited the Veterans Healing Farm and they are doing remarkable things to help our veterans help themselves. By working with nature they are reconnecting and recovering from traumatic experiences. They grow wonderful produce and share it with the local VA hospital.
I am a veteran. Having to be deployed for a year causes mountains of stress. I have noticed there were layers of pain on me when I came home. I am so thankful for healing farm for acknowledging these internal issues and taking action in helping veterans. Each positive step foward helps me peel a layer off. And slowly I can become the person I use to be. Its almost like a physical therapy class except for your mental.
The space created by this wonderful couple and the volunteers who believe in their mission is remarkable. They provide education on organic gardening and provide a loving place for our veterans and the community.
I love following Veteran's Healing Farm online, it's so inspiring to see the community which has been built around this most pressing need, veteran support upon civilian reentry. I hope to see this model replicated across the country, along with hopes for a more peaceful planet and fewer wounded warriors over all the lands.
They are doing amazing things for veterans from there hearts and I appreciate it so much my husband is a veteran my father was , I appreciate the veterans and veterans healing farm does also and it shows.
Dedication personified.
Passionate about service, especially to those who have served us.
Excellent stewards of resources.
Creative and caring.
These folks are The Real Deal
A wonderful treasure here in NC. They grow and give free produce to veterans and offer many courses in agriculture.
I am a disabled veteran and former professional lanscape gardener. Veterans Healing Farm is doing a great thing for veterans in the area. John knows what he is doing, I know from my lifetime of Organic Sustainable Gardening that he has it going on there. As a veteran I appreciate the effort he puts in to help us out and make us feel welcome and useful. One can't go wrong supporting this tremendous work going on there...
I assisted in VHF Beekeeping Bootcamp. The generosity of VHF and genuine caring displayed by John, Nicole and the local community is a rarity in today’s society.
I have personally witnessed the awesome things that they do for our veterans. I love to see how the veteran's faces light up when they come to the VA with their organic healthy food & flowers. It means so much to our veterans that someone loves and cares for them! It is truly a blessing how much John Mahshie cares for our veterans and how he reaches out to others to embrace the same vision as he has to show our veteran's that we care! The most important thing to me is how honest and accountable John is with the way he manages the Veteran's Healing Farm! We are all so proud of what John Mahshie stands for! God Bless Him!
Veterans Healing Farm is providing awesome learning to retreats such as beekeeping and how to use medicinal herbs, as well as providing farm fresh foods to their local veteran population.
I attended the veterans Beekeeping boot camp at the Veterans Healing Farm in Hendersonville, NC 9/14/18 thru 9/16/18. Doc's Healing Hives was the primary instructors. This event was phenomenal to say the least! The learning, support and fellowship provided to us veterans was over the top! We were provided an education, bee hives and equipment and bees free of charge. The experience was awesome and the support provided us by the Veterans Healing Farm was unbelievable!!! These two non profit organizations are truly motivated to support our Veterans...we need to support them! Thanks VHF and Doc's Healing Hives, Karl Lado
The Veterans Healing Farm is truly devoted to enriching the lives of our honored Veterans. They strive to develop and maintain programs and facilities for job and therapeutic training, general skill building and entertainment. They reach out to Veterans and work to build support systems that will extend outside this program. I hope you will take a few minutes to explore this non-profit enterprise and add it to the list of your resources for our valued
Veterans. Thank you.
What a fantastic mission that truly supports a deserving population throughout our county and country. We are truly blessed to know you.
I have seen the impact that this wonderful organization has on the people at the VA when they deliver beautiful flowers and fresh produce. They set up tables in the front and pass out their wonderful items for free!! The people are so appreciative and have big smiles!!
This is only a small part of the wonderful things they do to help our wonderful veterans!!
This is one of the best non-profit organizations in Western North Carolina.
So proud of them and the awesome work they do!
This program is awesome! As a wife of a disabled veteran, I’ve personally witnessed how hard it is for our veterans to adjust to civilian life. It’s hard for them to find a purpose and to not feel like outsiders. Veterans Healing Farm gives vets the camaraderie that they lose when leaving the service as well as new life skills they can not only apply to themselves but share with other vets. These skills of creation, life nurturing and community giving benefit the veteran, their family and friends and members of the receiving community. I wish all states had a program for our struggling veteran community.
VHF is an amazing operation!! The Mahshie family has sacrificed so much to make their community a better place and to encourage and support and build/rebuild Veterans and Families.
John, his wife and volunteers are doing so much to help our veterans. Besides the tons of fresh organic high quality produce and fresh cut flowers they give to our veterans & their caregivers, they have excellent workshops, camps and programs at no cost to the veteran. All this is done from respect and honor for our veterans and a sincere desire to see them healthy and whole in every way. This is a group of diligent, hardworking and dedicated individuals with great vision. I hope that one day we will have Veterans Healing Farms in every state.
My son John Mahshie is the driving force behind Veterans Healing Farm. I have had the pleasure of watching this organization grow from a blank slate....Johns dream of helping veterans struggling with reaclimating back to civilian life without the structure of the military, showing them honor and respect and giving them an opportunity to share with other vets and civilians has continuously amazed me. It humbles me to hear the passion in John about helping veterans and to see the many things accomplished. The peace and serenity you feel as you walk around the farm is incredible, it truly is a perfect place for healing. My role in this organization is that I own the property the farm is on and I am the founders proud mother.
The Veteran’s healing farm is an amazing organization. They provide fresh fruit, vegetables and bouquets of flowers to veterans. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, they also host training sessions on farming, beekeeping, using medicinal herbs, etc. and have an on-site location where veterans can come stay, learn and heal and all run by the most generous loving group.
I've been following this organization since they began their venture to help veterans heal through their programs and fellowship. Their service to other veterans through their delivery of produce and flowers to local Veterans Administration facilities is an additional blessing for many others. This is one of the finest veterans organizations and should be commended for their efforts to serve veterans and community.
I work with at risk youth and bring them to VHF on a regular basis. John's willingness to share his story and be honest and vulnerable with my students, and the inspiration that comes from meeting someone who had a dream of helping others and is actively making it happen is a powerful catalyst for positive change in disadvantaged youth. Additionally, his organization is one that unites people of all backgrounds: vets and non-vets, liberals and conservatives, country and city, old and young. In these times, that is necessary.
Absolutely incredible organization serving the needs of veterans in the community and beyond. VHF grows produce yo be given at the VA hospital at absolutely no cost to veterans. They even give away flower bouquets so veterans can give them to their caretakers. Many classes are offered at the facility that cover beekeeping, medical herbs, and many other health changing topics again, at no cost! Its incredible!!
What a wonderful organization. So love when I have an appointment at the VA and there are there with fresh vegetables, watermelons & flowers. They are truly a Blessing to us Veterans who served❤️