LANCE NUTT
I needed something after I got out.
I needed to feel like I belonged to something that
makes a difference.”
“
CEO & Founder, Sheep Dog Impact AssistanceRetired Sergeant Major, U.S. Marines
TO FOUNDER
After Serving, A Rough Transition
In the 10 years after 9/11:
For every service member killed in combat, four died by suicide.
New Programs Enhance Effectiveness
West, covered in splattered mud, takes a break from giving ranch guests a ride in his side-by-side.
Heroes Ranch abuts an off-roading park where Outdoor Adventure participants ride side-by-sides driven by Sheep Dog staff and volunteers.
FROM FIGHTER
Outdoor adventure director,
Sheep Dog Impact Assistance
SCOTT WEST
I’ve used my trauma to launch myself into living a better life … and I’m changing people's lives.”
“
Sheep Dog Impact Assistance got off to a fast start, matching heroes feeling stuck with opportunities to volunteer in disaster relief efforts.
And after a few years, it added an Outdoor Adventure program to help participants build self-confidence and camaraderie.Scott West, an Army veteran who was initially reluctant to participate in a skydiving adventure because he had lost both lower legs in combat, says the experience changed his life. Today, West directs the program, which ran 28 adventures last year that included scuba diving, hunting trips and marathons.But even with the success of the two programs, Nutt still thought his nonprofit had more to offer. It had succeeded in motivating people to socialize and take on new challenges after long stretches of solitude, but when participants returned home, some would end up back on the couch.Right before Covid hit, Nutt found what became the missing piece: Warrior PATHH, or Progressive and Alternative Training for Helping Heroes. The program, developed by the Boulder Crest Foundation, taps into the science of post-traumatic growth to empower participants to transform trauma into strength. Curious, Nutt immersed himself in a course. “Then, on Day 2, on the archery range, I went, ‘Oh, shit. I’m here for me.’ And it changed my life,” Nutt recalled. “At the time, I was retiring, I was
getting a divorce, and I was in a bad place. Things had caught up to me. As much good as I was doing, I had not been taking care of me.”A 2019 Boulder Crest report that surveyed participants before and 18 months after completing Warrior PATHH found significant reductions in anxiety, stress and other symptoms, including a 52% overall decrease in depression.
Sheep Dog Impact Assistance began in 2010 as a disaster response effort, a way to help people in need and provide veterans and first responders with a renewed sense of purpose.Nutt said his inspiration for founding the organization came when he traveled with his dad and a friend in 2005 to help Hurricane Katrina victims. Arriving in the Mississippi beach town of Pass Christian, they pitched in however they could—working house to house to collect scattered belongings and clear fallen trees. Nutt soon realized that he wasn’t just helping others. “There was the recognition in that moment that I found something I could do to help me,” recalled Nutt. “So many of our [country’s] men and women fail when they get out because they don't know how to transition properly. And they ultimately feel like they've lost their purpose, which leads to drugs, alcohol and suicide.”A 2021 Brown University study estimated that 30,000 veterans of post-9/11 conflicts have died by suicide, more than four times the 7,057 service members killed in combat during that period.
Warrior PATHH participants attend courses at Tuskegee Hall and live in the surrounding dormitories during their weeklong stay.
With horses, donkeys and cows grazing in pastures, Heroes Ranch might look like a family farm to the casual observer.
LePage leads Jameson across a pasture. He was one of 13 Highland cows on the ranch in April. All have names and backstories.
THE RANCH
RUNNING
senior vice president & general manager, Walmart Business
ASHLEY HUBKA
We are not just helping them to make every dollar count, but also empowering them
to build more resilient communities.”
“
The organization is also saving as much as 20% on office supplies and building up rewards that
have been used for emergency purchases.When Walmart started the program, it ran under the code name Project Backbone because the nonprofits and small businesses it sought to help were the backbone of the places where they operated. Being able to help Sheep Dog and other organizations focus on what they do best is a privilege, Hubka said.
More evidence of the program’s lasting impact can be seen in the number of past participants who volunteer to work on the ranch.“Whether it's the grounds or what happened while they were here—how it made them feel continues on,” said LePage.In the same spirit of supporting community, Walmart is also helping Sheep Dog staff serve the heroes with online ordering, free delivery and low prices enabled through a Walmart Business+ membership. (See below for more details.)Ingredients for the three daily meals provided to guests and staff are purchased through Walmart Business. Gone are the weekly grocery runs involving three shopping carts and five hours round trip. LePage can now order all groceries from home.“It saves me so much time as the only full-time employee, taking a whole day just to get groceries and stuff,” said LePage, who cooks mostly everything from scratch to promote all-around health. “You can imagine how planning for that is insane.”
Supporting The Mission
Sheep Dog Impact Assistance enrolled 204 men and women in Warrior PATHH training last year.
LePage doesn’t need surveys to convince her of the healing power of Heroes Ranch, having witnessed time and again the emotional shift Warrior PATHH students experience. The first seven days of the program take place on the ranch, where a group of eight men or eight women begin an intensely introspective course on reframing the trauma that has dragged them down. The in-person work is followed by three months of remote training, support and accountability, all led by peers who completed the program themselves.When new students arrive, most seem closed off, avoiding eye contact and crossing their arms, said LePage. “In seven days, they're hugging, they're exchanging phone numbers, they're smiling, laughing, dancing, whatever,” explained LePage,
herself the wife of an Army veteran and the daughter of a fallen law enforcement officer.All Sheep Dog programs are offered at no cost to participants thanks to grants and donations, and most participants learn of the organization through word of mouth.
Witnessing Transformation
Heroes Ranch Operations Manager, Sheep Dog Impact Assistance
CHRISTINA LEPAGE
In the seven days they’re here, you see
it gradually, but they open up.”
“
Sheep Dog Impact Assistance relies on donations, corporate sponsorships and private grants to fund operations and purchase supplies. To learn more and make a donation, click here.
Open a free account to access low prices,
bulk buys and budgeting tools.
Start a paid membership to save big on
deliveries and unlock rewards.
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This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help,
the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.
There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org