Deed of the Day!

The five goats, two alpacas, two rabbits, potbellied pig, cat, guinea pig, dog and five horses at veteran Tice Ridley’s ranch play critical roles in helping veterans, along with first responders and their families, heal from the wounds of war.      

 
Ridley, at the age of 44 is a retired Army war veteran and major who served for 18 years. He calls his farm the Circle of Veterans and Families, and its mission is “to keep soldiers alive and families together.”            
  

In 2015, after taking medical retirement from the Army, he co-founded the nonprofit organization with his wife, Samantha Ridley, in Florida. Located on his 10-acre Circle V Ranch, the organization gives him "purpose while providing hope." Ridley told TODAY that an inspirational to this project is that they are aware that “not all wounds are visible."      
 
The ranch welcomed its first veteran guests on November 2 in a joint effort with Veterans Hospital in Tampa, Florida, to provide services to veterans. The use of alternative therapies differentiates the ranch from more traditional treatment facilities. At Circle V Ranch, participants can engage in meditation, yoga, hypnosis and smoking cessation. They can also participate in peer group support, equine-assisted psychotherapy and companion dog pairing canine therapy. For about a year, Ridley and his wife had been self-funding limited weekend visits on the ranch as a test run for the broader program that was recently opened.
 
Jay Hoffman, who served in the Navy from 1972 to 1975, visited the ranch on that first day. He’s rehabilitating from drug and alcohol addiction. “Tice has opened up a door for me,” Hoffman told TODAY. He said that addiction treatment at a for-profit facility usually means that when the treatment period ends, he’s sent “back to the streets, with no place to go. If you want to get drunk or high then, you can.” But being at the ranch is like “being in no man’s land, and that’s good,” he said. “We’re so far out here, away from the city. Friends and the animals are just so therapeutic.” Hoffman said he likes rubbing the ears of the rescue potbellied pig, Bacon, and feeding him. He also pets the resident kitty, Mittens, and waters the horses.      
 
Ridley, who has six medals for outstanding service, returned from Afghanistan in 2010; in 2013 he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. And he’s far from alone: The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 8 million adults have PTSD during a given year.      
     
Ridley told TODAY that he found himself struggling to understand his condition and finding help so he could integrate better into society and try to live a normal life. Ridley had lived in Chicago, which has no military base, meaning a lack of treatment resources for veterans. Ridley knew that waiting to find mental health treatment could take a long, and he wanted to investigate lesser-known alternative therapies he'd heard about, some of which involved his passion for animals.    

He was then further motivated after a disappointing visit with a therapist in Chicago. That counselor advised Ridley's wife to "just leave” or divorce her husband when it appeared that Ridley’s current treatment wasn’t working. Ridley decided to try alternatives including hypnosis and rapid-resolution therapy. The treatments helped, and Ridley says he's a lot less jumpy now and less prone to outbursts or periods of extreme emotional upset.

Darlene Williams, a licensed clinical psychologist and certified hypnotherapist who sees veteran clients at the ranch says, "What's happening at Circle V is such important work for people who have experienced the tragedies of war. The problems can be very complex and for that we need to offer something more comprehensive.” She told TODAY that, “The research supports the benefits of these kinds of alternative therapies for military populations.”      
     
Some people may be intimidated by the horses’ size, Ridley admits, but clients don’t ride them. Instead, they do what's called "ground work,” and it’s therapeutic for veterans. "With ground work, they can't touch the horses or use a treat," he said. "They can put a halter on them and they can try to figure out what the horse wants in other intuitive ways.”      

Ridley's other furry creatures provide a warm, hands-on experience to calm sensitive nerves and allow the veterans to know the joy of safe, noncompetitive "aha! moments” when they interact with animals. “For a couple to open their home to other veterans just blows me away,” said a friend and veteran. “They are so gracious and kind.”      

As for Ridley, he’s proud of his fellow veterans. On November 18, he hosted a special Thanksgiving dinner for them and the ranch’s supporters. He's looking forward to many more, since he knows Veterans Day is but one day a year.