The residual trauma from war can have a lasting impact on veterans and their families. No one knows this better than Dan and Jo Slawski, founders of Guardian Hills Veterans Healing Center. 

When Dan’s father returned from his service in World War II, he struggled to cope with the mental and emotional stress of post-war trauma. Dan experienced his father’s outbursts of rage and occasional disappearances as confusing and disruptive to family life. That didn’t deter Dan from joining the Air Force after college to help pay for his medical school, which was a positive life change for Dan and his wife Jo.

Since that time, Dan’s active military service as well as his experience caring for orthopedic patients opened his eyes to the post-traumatic stress that veterans live with every day. After hearing many stories from POW’s, veterans and family members living with veterans who were suffering both physically and mentally, Dan and Jo knew their calling was to help veterans be restored to health and wholeness. 

In this eye-opening episode, Shay Roush interviews Dan and Jo to discuss their work with Guardian Hills Veterans Healing Center, a facility dedicated to helping veterans recover from the physical, emotional, and relational injuries they often face after service. Located in the beautiful country of northern Missouri, Guardian Hills provides resources and support for veterans struggling with trauma, including post-traumatic stress (PTS) and moral injury.

Many veterans don’t experience their first impact of post-traumatic stress until 11 years after service, and they often don’t have access to the resources needed for them to process the memories or stressors associated with their time in active duty. Their emotional and physical injuries are distressing, debilitating, and often lead to suicide as an alarming 17 veterans a day die by suicide around the country.

You will be inspired and encouraged as you hear the Slawskis' vision for Guardian Hills, and the transformations that are occuring in veterans lives on a daily basis (as captured in this video). 

If you or someone you love could benefit from the services offered at Guardian Hills or you want to learn more about the programs and educational therapies they offer, visit the Guardian Hills website where you can also purchase tickets for the upcoming annual banquet and auction on Saturday, March 8th at Cooper’s Ridge Event Center.

For information about housing for veterans in Columbia, Missouri visit the Welcome Home website to learn about their vision for ending homelessness for veterans in our community.

If you enjoy listening to With You in the Weeds we’d love to hear from you! You can email us at [email protected] or leave us a review. For more great content from the team you can subscribe to our newsletter at withyouintheweeds.com and follow us on Instagram @withyouintheweeds.