David Miller-Martini has had it with waiting.
When the Clarion resident returned to the United States after his deployment as a special operations specialist with the Air Force, he found three members of his 15-man team had committed suicide while awaiting counseling.
“You see that in the suicide rate among veterans. There are 18 to 23 suicides every day. If that doesn’t signal a problem, I don’t know what does,” he said. “There are men and women dying every day. To us, this is an emergency.”
“We are tired of waiting for legislative fixes to these problems,” foundation board secretary Gina Clark said. “Lawmakers want to make a change, but bureaucratic red tape makes it impossible for real change to come in a timely fashion. Pennsylvanians can’t sit around and wait for the government to take care of the brave men and women who have sacrificed for our freedoms any longer.”
The foundation opened a capital campaign to purchase Sherman’s Island, which is best known for the lighthouse that overlooks the Allegheny River in Tionesta. The foundation, via the facilities it would have on the island retreat, desires to offer various support services to the veterans.
“Working with this type of program made me realize that the programs that used a holistic approach were more successful,” said Miller-Martini, who for several years had served as executive director for Clarion University’s Ryan Wright program, which provides services for AIDS victims.
He explained the foundation is going to be under a Christian umbrella. “If you are going to treat the mind and body, you can’t leave out the spiritual element.”
The foundation is not looking at utilizing any state or federal programs.
“I have found that when you take money from a government source that pretty soon … dictates what you can do,” Miller-Martini said. “We would never be able to realize our model once those handcuffs come on. There is not another program in the nation that is this comprehensive. We will have doctors, nurses, counselors and nutritionists on staff.”
A lot of the veterans, he said, experience a unique form of trauma, a level that draws on many moral and ethical questions. “They experienced a disregard for humanity.” The program will treat chronic conditions with chronic treatment. “We will transform them if it takes six, eight or 12 months.” To do that, the foundation will have a clinic, workforce development and life skills training.
And, the foundation will be involved with local communities.
“We are not here to compete with anyone. We are here to find synergy. We are looking at helping people who do not have the means to do these projects themselves.”
Miller-Martini said the foundation hopes to receive $700 to $1,200 in daily reimbursements from private insurance and other sources, and that the program could generate between $12 million to $18 million annually.
“We hope the program will become self-sustaining.” he said. “We hope to be able to treat 40 veterans based on the reimbursements we receive. Many women also suffer from PTSD, and we will, in time, include them. We had to start somewhere.”
The first phase is to raise $1.75 million to purchase the island from the Sherman family. Miller-Martini said the entire cost of the project, including infrastructure, would be about $10 million to $12 million.
“We plan to renovate some of the existing buildings and open them up to veterans groups for camping or meetings,” he said. “The lighthouse will stay open to the general public.”
According to Miller-Martini, one of the first projects would be an amphitheater. Ten bungalows for the veterans would be erected via local construction.
“We found that many programs use tiny houses, but what is needed for the vets is camaraderie,” he said. “Later, we will build a dining facility that will be unique because it will be operated by the vets.
“The restaurant and conference center will seat 160 people. It will be open to the public and will include a coffee bar. The veterans will learn culinary and entrepreneurial skills. They can learn what it is like to operate a small business.”
Miller-Martini said no one would be brought to the island who has not been vetted. “No one with a criminal background will be coming to the island.”
Availability of resources, he said, will dictate the timeline. “If every thing falls into place, we could be open by the summer of 2025.”
For more information, go to the foundation’s website or call Miller-Martini at 814-227-6872.