Warriors to Farmers helps veterans back on feet through horticulture
Marine Corps veteran Sebastien Lajeunesse found peace and a purpose getting his hands dirty, tilling the ground and seeing plants grow as a result of his hard work. After being diagnosed with PTSD, this was just the escape he was looking for and dreamed of one day begin able to help other veterans do the same.
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“Sometimes when I’m planting, I look down at my hands,” Lajeunesse said. “These hands once carried an M16 and was trained to destroy and kill. Now they are creating life. I can watch the flowers and plants pop up and all the work helps you move on. This is my purpose now.”
Lajeunesse began his own hops farm, St. John’s Hops in Umatilla, and started the Warriors to Farmers non-profit to give other veteran with PTSD a chance to experience the same healing.
The program offers veterans a paid position on the hops farm, a peaceful and therapeutic environment, with access to counseling to help acclimate them back into society.
“We’ve had one veteran graduate the program and go on to open his own landscaping company,” Lajeunesse said. “Our goal is to help them get back on their feet and teach them a trade at the same time.”
The non-profit is in the process of getting their license to become a vocational rehab center which will allow veterans to use their GI Bill to study one of three trades — agriculture, mechanics and brewmaster training.
Lajeunesse will teach agriculture in partnership with a friend of his that specializes in the science of horticulture, Cobb Tractor will train the veterans with their mechanics and Wops Hops Brewery in Sanford will train them in brew-mastery.
“This will take us to a whole new level,” Lajeunesse said. “We are hoping this will allow us to hire more veterans.”
Recently, Lajeunesse was able to bring on Rowan Sockol, a Marine Corps veteran that was having a hard time returning to the daily grind.
“It’s been good for me,” Sockol said. “It feels like I’m accomplishing something and being a part of something flexible that lets me get my life together is what I needed.”
Former Epcot bakery production manager Cindy Hunt is also coming on board to run farm production. Her family has a long history of farming and her father and his six brothers were veterans, along with her wife, so the cause is close to her heart.
“I retired from Epcot and felt it was time to do something to help people,” Hunt said. “A lot of vets are thrown to the curb and it’s just sad. They are willing to lay down their life for us and we don’t do anything for them in return. They sometimes come back messed up and you don’t see it because it’s inside of them. If we can save one life through the farm, then I’ve done something.”
Lajeunesse and Sockol are currently working on planting crops and repairing the farm as they prepare for the spring hops. The hops has caught the attention of many breweries around Central Florida who have used it to make specialty brews like the “Dirty Grunt” at Crooked Can Brewery in Winter Garden and the “American Hero” at American Icon Brewery in Vero Beach.
“American Icon has asked us to dedicate three acres of hops just for their production,” Lajeunesse said. “What’s great is that they donate a portion of their sales of that drink back to our Warriors to Farmers program.”
The farm is in need of additional items such as outdoor lighting, lumber and gardening supplies, as well as monetary donations to keep supporting veterans. To help, visit warriorstofarmers.org.
