Military veterans returning to civilian life often need help to make that transition. While the focus is on them, sometimes forgotten are the needs of their spouses and children.
That’s where Jamie Paxton comes in. You might say she uses a little “horse sense” to help veterans and their families cope with the transition.
Paxton is the founder and executive director of Little Blessings Veteran and Community Outreach, based at an 18-acre horse farm in Ottawa Lake, Mich. “We bring a sense of peace and normalcy to veterans and their families,” Little Blessings said. “Adjusting to life at home takes work, and we’re here to help.”
Paxton and Little Blessings help through “the healing power of equine-assisted services, wellness programs and community integration.”
“A horse mirrors the emotion of the veteran,” Paxton said. “If you walk in angry, the horse will pin its ears back and swish its tail.” Paxton said she has an equine specialist and a separate equine specialist who is a licensed mental health specialist to work with the horses and veterans.
She said nine veterans come to the farm one hour a week for 50 weeks to an Equine Assisted Learning Program. Paxton said, initially, the veterans ride a horse around an arena without talking. The rhythmic motion of the horse has a calming effect, she said.
The program has five phases that build on each other to help the veteran “take a more-relaxed journey with incredible resources that increase their chances for long-term success.”
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Paxton recognizes the veteran is not alone, so she instituted programs for spouses and children. In Spouses Equine Development, those living with a veteran get to be in the company of horses. “You will develop useful tools to move forward…and create healthy boundaries,” said the Little Blessings website.
Children are included in a program called SEEAL – Social Emotional Equine Assisted Learning. An 18-week, three-phase program teaches children of veterans skills and allows them to share emotion in a safe environment and feel a sense of participation in the family.
Speaking of family, Little Blessings once a month invites the veteran community to come together as a group. “This has been one of the most important components to our program,” said Little Blessings. “Veterans in isolation can create strain and worsen struggles with loneliness and detachment. Realizing that you’re not in this journey alone is important. Spouses also have the opportunity to meet someone else who understands the daily struggles that go along with a military marriage. The kids get to connect too.”
Little Blessings also provides Spiritual Connection from 6-7 p.m. the second Saturday of each month. The format is open discussions with messages from the Bible.
Paxton knows about the difficult transition from military to civilian life. She retired after 25 years with the 180th Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard at the Eugene F. Kranz Toledo Express Airport. “The civilian world is a completely different space. If you don’t have the coping skills, it’s extremely overwhelming.”
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When she retired, she had the opportunity to work at a farm and became involved with horses. Through that she launched Little Blessings as a nonprofit in 2018, with it beginning operation in 2019.
So what’s the meaning of its name? “I always felt it was the little things that made the biggest difference,” Paxton said. To those veterans and their families she and her horses help, the effort is a big blessing.
More details about Little Blessings are available at lbveteranoutreach.org.
