031: Overcoming trauma through the partnership of horses and humans with Kayla Arestivo

Artwork for podcast Holding Down the Fort by US VetWealth

Episode 8 • 23rd March 2020 • Holding Down the Fort by US VetWealth • Jen Amos

Jen Amos 0:00

Welcome to holding down the fort, a podcast show dedicated to curating knowledge, resources and relevant stories. So military spouses can continue to make confident and informed decisions for their families. Because let's face it, we know who's really holding down the fort. I'm Jen amis, a Goldstar, daughter of veterans spouse, and your host for today's show. Let's get started.

All right. Hey, everyone. Welcome back. I'm really excited to get into this next interview. But before I do, I just want to let you know that there is one point in the interview that gets a little blurry. So I jump in there and paraphrase that little section for you. So it won't take too long. But you'll hear me kind of jump in the middle of the conversation. And one more thing before we officially begin, I just want to share that holding down the floor is brought to you by us vet wealth. While most financial advisors help you plan for retirement, we help you plan for who you want to become. You can learn more about us at US vet wealth.com. Also, during this time of COVID 19, we understand that community is more important than ever. And so I just want to share that us at wealth is now going to be offering free action classes where you can join us virtually for 45 to 60 minutes to connect with like minded people, and even learn a thing or two. So if you're interested in being in community with us and getting to know me and my husband, Scott R Tucker, and what we do with our company, or you're just looking to connect and find community or just hang out, we highly encourage you to check out us but wall.com and check out our free action classes. Alright, that's all I have to say. Thanks so much for listening and enjoy this next interview.

All right, hi, everyone, John Amos here with holding down the four podcast show. And I am excited because every time I get to do another show, it means that I get to interview another incredible person in our military community. So I want to go ahead and introduce you all to Kayla eres Devo. Kayla Arecibo is a navy spouse and founder and president of trails a purpose Veteran Program. She is currently in her final semester of her master's degree program at Liberty University in pursuit of becoming a licensed professional counselor in the state of Virginia. She currently focuses on restoring wellness to the veteran community through Equine Assisted activities and therapies. Kayla, welcome to the show.

Unknown Speaker 2:38

Hi, Jen, thank you so much for having me.

Jen Amos 2:41

Ya know, it's my absolute pleasure, especially in the times that we're at right now. I just love being able to talk to just anyone. I'm not saying that you're just anyone. But I'm just glad that I have someone to talk to you right now. And that happens to be you, Kayla.

Speaker 1 2:54

I totally understand with a one and a half year old at home. It's a lot of little baby talk. So talking to another adult sounds really good right now.

Jen Amos 3:03

Awesome. I love it. Well, Kayla, why don't we start with you sharing? How did you hear about holding down the fort? I know that we have a mutual friend, John macroscale. So I'm just curious to know, how did he bring it up to you? And how did that conversation started? And how did he you know, get you to connect with us?

Speaker 1 3:17

Yeah, of course. So John McCaskill is, he's actually not our board of directors for trails of purpose. I met him at a US Naval Academy Alumni kind of networking event. And we put it off right away because he's so plugged into that path. And veteran path at trial purpose have recently partnered because of our similar missions to serve veterans. And so he and I hit it off and with His love his wife and his kids. So he's like, if you know him, and I know that you do like the best networker in the entire world. I'm telling you, he's really good at putting himself out there and trying to connect people passionate about that for sure. So he told me about you, especially with everything going on right now with Coronavirus and kind of being stuck at home. He's trying to look for things for the nonprofit to do still while being socially distanced. Yeah, like you should reach out to this podcasting people and you know, Jen is amazing. And so that's kind of how we got in touch.

Jen Amos 4:25

Oh, I love it. And I have a have like a random story to share about John. So before we were given this executive order to stay at home, my husband Scott and I, we had rented an RV through this website through called outdoorsy which is like Airbnb for our v's and we took it to Florida because I had a speaking engagement at the pod fest Expo there last March or actually march right now, last day of March at the time of this recording. And it was funny because we met the owner of the RV we met Rebecca and the funny thing is that yeah, the funny thing is that when we came back, we were just like talking to her. We're just like, oh, yeah, we're like, we love your RV. It was amazing. And she was saying stuff like, oh yeah, my husband and I are planning on like selling the house, and we're just gonna live out of this RV. And we didn't know this. But Rebecca is married to John. And so John was, I guess he was looking out the window. And he was all like, he's like, Honey, like, is that Scott Tucker? And she was like, Yeah, and so he comes out, and we're just like, oh, my gosh, we were using your RV, like for the last 10 days, and we didn't even know it. And we like, Yeah, and like, you know, of all the places and all the other RVs we chose, you know, like, we had no idea. Like, we could have chose any other RV on this website. But we haven't chosen to have chosen John's. And so it's just like, it's so funny. Like, how that happened. So thank you, Jonathan. I'm actually almost curious. I almost want to ask him, like if his plans are changing, or have changed because of, you know, COVID-19 But I guess that's a conversation for another time.

Speaker 1 5:57

Well, we've just been decided, my husband and I, but they're not moving. So even like our first sale sign up, we're just gonna go every day and knock it down. Because we just don't want them to meet.

Jen Amos 6:09

I love it. I love it. No, that's, that's funny. No, John seems like, you know, Scott knows him more than me. But he's, you know, he really seems like a good people. And he seems like that master networker, and just really, really cool. And I'm so glad that he was able to connect us together. Well, Kayla, for people that are getting to know you for the first time, and I know things have changed given the COVID-19. But why don't you share a snapshot of your life, particularly what keeps you excited and busy nowadays,

Speaker 1 6:36

but there's a lot going on. Like I said, I have an amazing husband, Kyle and the co founder of Charles purpose with me. And then we have a daughter who is just over a year and a half old. But she's going on like 14, I swear. And then I am 31 weeks pregnant. Currently with our second daughter. I work part time. And then obviously, he works full time as well. I kind of work part time with the counseling and then part time with the nonprofit. It's a whole lot of working. But we're pretty busy in our professional I'm in here at home. And we've got a little hobby farm here. So I have three horses. I like to kind of say like two and a half sometimes because I have two and a mini. And then we have two pigs, two dogs. So we've got plenty to keep us busy every single day while caring for the animals and you know, babies did a lot. So with this Coronavirus, it's really been kind of crazy, because since I am considered high risk because of the pregnancy, my husband has been sent home from work, which is just a blessing to have him home. But you know, it is also a wake up call, Hey, you know, like you're high risk. So trying to stay mindful of that, but also not live in anxiety, that's for sure. You know, I have a ton of family up in New York and it right outside the city. And they're kind of just to come to the fear every single day. And it's definitely a bit more real for them as a hotspot pretty much. It's like a big globe right now. But daily life right now is a little slower. Honestly, it's nice having him home. And we can focus on doing more administrative things at home. Unfortunately, during this whole time period, trails of purpose have to stop. Because we are gatherings of more than 10 people and we are technically a recreational kind of activity, then we pushed it for as long as we can. But given the governor's most recent press releases, it's just at what point are we kind of going against authority and so made very difficult and sad decision to say, hey, we're just gonna kind of postpone, like, cancel, we're not canceling the photo thing. Right? Right. So this all left off. So just kind of diving into more things that we can do at home, and then maybe trying to soak up all the last minutes informing everyone daughter to teach her couple of weeks. That's what's going on in our everyday lives right now.

Jen Amos 9:19

Wow. Although you've said that things have kind of slowed down to me it sounds like you have a lot of things to do considering that it's not just you and your daughter and your your upcoming daughter, but also the horses and the pigs and the dogs. I mean, my husband and I, we don't have kids, but we have this dog with separation anxiety. And right before the corona virus started, we actually put them into dog training to learn how to be alone,

Speaker 2 9:46

but it's like, Okay, I can't be alone with this dog because we have to, you know, we don't really have that option right now, although we can still train to the point where we could leave them at home. But I'm just thinking like how much that's already a handful for us to like, take care of this and more One little creature that's not going to like, give us a legacy. You know, this is this dog that we bought our lives around. He's really the glue and almost the bane to our relationship sometimes, which I'm sure a lot of people can say about their pets. So I say that love.

Jen Amos: 10:19

But no, it definitely sounds like you have a lot of things on your plate. And at least your husband is home. I think that's really awesome. And you're very fortunate to have that because I can only imagine, you know, the people that have to be isolated right now who don't have anyone, right. You know, they're

: 10:34

just by themselves. And I know one of my girlfriends, you know, Lucky for her, she just got a puppy while her fiance is deployed. So at least you know, she has that to keep her company but you know, my heart goes for people who are actually like isolated and you know, don't have much to keep them busy.

: 10:50

Right. And you watch these things and news about the people who are the elderly in the nursing homes are they're stuck in like they can't have their their children or their grandchildren. COVID net. And it's just so tough because you're like, quality of life versus risk of Coronavirus. I mean, isolation does some crazy stuff to us as human beings, we are family animals are never meant to live alone, which is really at the root of trails of purpose isn't going to kind of go in that direction. But it's just quality. Yeah, no, everywhere. It's

Jen Amos: 11:23

great. Yeah, absolutely. Well, I know that Charles of purpose is currently on hold. But I do want to talk about the goodness like the good work that you all have been doing with it. But why don't you share it for anyone that is learning about trails of purpose for the first time? What is it like? What do you do and why do you do it?

: 11:41

Yeah, of course. So we are a 501 C three nonprofit, we operate as an accredited pass International Center. So what that means pass is an acronym that stands for professional association of Therapeutic Horsemanship. So what that means is that we are a program that operates with a passing instructor who has been certified and trained in all the safety handling, and abide by past safety standards and protocols of how to kind of operate with veterans or other populations in a safe manner that can be effective in a therapeutic or in a learning environment. And so we're a baby organization, to be honest with you, we incorporated with the state of Virginia, last March. So about a year ago, wow, I didn't even realize it's been a year. But we received our tax exemption status. Not until like the end of April, because that takes a couple of weeks with the IRS. So we're officially a 501 C three. So we're in April. And then we built our our little barn and you know, put up our facility and got our horses by May, May 1 was the date. And then through the summer, we trained the horses to be therapy horses. And what that means is they have capabilities, they pass like furious screaming to get through this, I probably saw about 50 horses before I chose the ones that we have, wow, just based on temperament, and just really being able to be a calming presence. And so they needed to learn how to be wheelchair accessible, really not for writing, but how to walk alongside a wheelchair, not be afraid of a wheelchair and not be afraid of a cane, be able to slow down and walk with somebody who maybe has a different physical capability be at their pace. So that was throughout the summer. And then we started our first ever event was hosted on August 29 of 2019. So we went through until now. So it's been I don't even know what about six months, seven months, something like that. And so that's how we operate. We have a couple of partnerships that we have formed, which is how we have our participants. And we do have a working relationship with the Hampton VA medical center up there. So they bring their community living center their inpatient residents, if you will come on out, and they take a coach bus out a couple of times each season. They need milder weather. So either the fall or the springtime, we don't have them out in the dead of winter or in the heat of the summer just based on what they need physically. But they'll come out every I think it's like every five weeks we have those scheduled in those seasons. And then we have weekly classes just for like community veterans that hear about us on Facebook, on social media or online or through word of mouth. And so we service all branches, and we require a DD 214 that you can be active or retired. And we are co Ed male or female so we're not really exclusive to any one type of sex. within the military, we recently formed a working relationship with the Navy SEAL Foundation. And although Coronavirus, have kind of put those events on hold. And we do offer specific kind of workshops or retreats to Special Warfare. So we kind of serve as a whole broad spectrum. But at the end of the day, we are a space mentoring program. Yeah. So we've had some people ask, Hey, we love what you do, and are you going to do it with kids or at risk youth and although I love them, and my heart goes out to them, veterans are such a specialized group that I really believe that you have to be solely focused on them to serve them the best that you can. And that's just my belief. So trails of purpose will forever be a veteran, military focused organization. So yeah, that's how we operate. We do bring occasionally caregivers in or spouses in or children of the veterans. And so we are family friendly. But in terms of every week classes, we are 18 and older, kind of for insurance purposes and whatnot, and to keep the environment more therapeutic. That kind of the backstory of how we got to where we are. And then what we do is we offer right now classes what we would kind of postpone right, we're offering and we will continue to offer at some points and classes twice a week. And one is we meet in Chesapeake. And then once we meet in Virginia Beach, we have two different locations that we meet at. And those classes are about three hours long. They start with it's kind of like a coffee and doughnuts social hour, where all the vets kind of get together and chat and catch up about three weeks. And then we will move into working with the horses. So that usually starts off with some grooming of the horses. And then we'll go into a meditative moment kind of just mindfulness exercise, to get everybody back grounded from socializing. So fast hour and get everybody kind of focused already work on what we're going to do for the day with the horses. And they'll do the exercise with the horses that be a challenge course, or teamwork stuff, we do some teamwork things where you have a partner, or you're working in a group of four to try to accomplish a task with your horses. And then after that, we kind of clean up and move into lunch, we always serve a community meal together. And that's when everyone gets to really sit down and volunteers and participants alike, and just chat about what they learned for that day, or even the things that they're going through. And honestly, just medicine, in part of trails of purpose is that community meal afterwards. We love our horses, they're amazing. I just trust me, I love them. We are after a community and we partner with horses in doing that, but the community piece really happens around a table with food on it. And you just see the conversations just blossoming. Because you've had their guards be let down because they've been working with horses, and they've been working together. And so they're outside in the fresh air. And then we put them around a table with food. And naturally these conversations just blossom. It's really, really cool.

Jen Amos: 18:22

That's beautiful. I mean, yeah, there's a whole process of, you know, training them up and getting ready to be the horses and then being with the horses, but then the community aspect, I can only imagine like how rewarding it is to, you know, be a part of that and to witness that. Because I think it's common knowledge for all of us to know that one thing that veterans tend to struggle with, after you know, in post military life is a sense of community, you know, they don't have the same type of community that they did when they were in the service. And so I think that's really awesome. I can imagine, like I said, like how rewarding it is to witness that and to create that space for veterans to feel like they belong to something.

: 18:58

Yeah, I mean, we train them to literally go through boot camp, go through indoctrination, and learn to brother Your sister is all that you have, and that you got there six no matter what. And that nobody gets left behind that if you're operating as a unit, you need each other. And so we expect them by society, the government the most we expect our military personnel to operate in that headspace. And then they either retire or they're finished with their service time they come back or they're discharged. And now what you're learning isn't like, oh, where's that community coming from? And it's just this feeling of like, well, nobody really gets me because yes, I'm trained for community but are not trained for community. Like everybody else. It's a very specialized type of community. So you're so right, that's really the isolation and although I haven't walked in that that piece in terms of leaving the military or anything of that nature, you know, I do know that isolation can do it to a person and sort of to have people who are your tie First people. That's incredibly important.

Jen Amos: 20:03

Yeah, absolutely. So Kayla, it sounds like you went through a lot to make this nonprofit possible just to get accredited to become a nonprofit, and to have a board. I think that it takes a lot of passion, you know, to be able to put something like this together. And so I'm curious, like, why was this so important for you, you know, to have this type of nonprofit that focuses on veterans specifically.

: 20:27

So I'm a believer, and I can really say that this is all divine.

Jen Amos: 20:34

Hey, everyone, Jen aImost here. So this next portion is going to sound a little blurry. So I'm just going to paraphrase what Kayla had said, for all of you, and I'm gonna keep it in anyway, just for your listening pleasure. But in this next portion that she says that she considers herself a believer, and she really believes that all of this was divine, she never woke up one day and thought, I'm going to do this. And she felt like she was being led through to this point. So if we're really getting to the nitty gritty about why she started trails a purpose, it starts when she was eight years old, back in 2001, when she lost her father, and the terrorist attacks and 911. Since then, it's been a lifelong process for Kayla, to get to where she is today, with Charles a purpose. Alright, hopefully that helps paraphrase it for all of you. And like I said, I'm going to keep the audio in any way for your listening pleasure.

: 21:26

So I'm going to do that it was fun, I was able to get through to this point. So I guess, if we really want to get a degree of that question, it starts when I'm eight years old, 2001. Out there in the terrorist attacks on 911. It's a lifelong process for me to get to where I am with trails of purpose, I never necessarily woke up one day and said, This is what I'm gonna do, or this is the business I'm going to create. It certainly wasn't in my plan to start a nonprofit with a one year old or whatever season of life I was in. And honestly, I mean, it was a lot. But you know, when I was eight years old, I lost my father in the terrorist attacks on 911. My father worked for Cantor Fitzgerald in the north twin tower on the 100 and third floor. And so to be an eight year old, and to have that happen to lose somebody at eight years old, just to invest in general, is a confusing kind of concept. Because eight years old, you're a concrete thinker. So you're either alive or you're not. But there's this weird permanency that like isn't really quite with you yet. When you think about the concept of death that, you know, eight years old. And so after my father had passed, I went through a really hard time, because the grieving process for me really took about 11 years, to be honest. Because I just didn't understand what was going on. And so it was like, oh, at 10 years old, I started to go through the first stage of grief. And then at 1112, I went through another one, and then and then all sudden throw that in were being 1516 years old, but having normal like hormones, as a teenage girl, it was a really, really difficult time for me, kind of led me through series of depressions and medications and anxiety, you know, eventually addiction and going through rehab and a whole slew of different mental health counseling. I was at rock bottom a few times. I mean, I don't put this out there all that often. But there were a few suicide attempts in my past when I was a teenager, and I just didn't really have. I definitely didn't have purpose. And I felt really, really alone. Although 1000s of other people died on 911. I grew up on Long Island, Suffolk County, Long Island. And so you know, by train, it was probably, gosh, hour and a half or something like that from the city. And so, really, I think there was two people or two or three people in all of Suffolk County that died from 911, because they were mostly from the city of the five boroughs of the city. We're inside of New Jersey, a little bit in Connecticut, but closer to the city area. So I felt really alone. And when you go through something like 911, and you become a 911 victim, you've got a spotlight on you. And you don't just lose somebody in a car accident, or tragic lead to cancer or in another really awful way. And as awful as those things are, the whole world doesn't know every detail about it. The whole world I think creating these conspiracy theories about it, you know, there wasn't every single year, you know, playing over and over again on 911 You know, the towers falling where you have to think okay, that looks tragic. Also, my father was in that. So it was really an interesting thing and I Don't even it's so became my norm. That until I talk about it out loud, it still doesn't seem bizarre to me. And then I'm like, Oh, that is really a weird thing that I could go anywhere in the world, really and talk to anybody over the age of 18. And they would know exactly what I'm talking about. And so it really put me in a vulnerable spot, feeling like, I was isolated, but yet the whole world knew that had pity for me. And it was a strange thing growing up being a child of 911 as some people have said, so I know firsthand what terrorism can do to a person. And so I like it in the sense that I've never fought a war. And I've never looked the terrorists in the eye, but I'll never forget their faces. Yeah, and I know what they can do to a family and an individual, and just kind of that type of evil in the world and what it can do. So I became passionate about helping people overcome trauma, and through a series of divine intervention was led to equine therapy and seeing that and how it works in the world and whatnot. And then I was a volunteering with an organization called horses, helping heroes. And they were located in Smithfield, Virginia, since then they've kind of dissolved as a operating 501 C three. But when that happened, I had known of all the participants in that program. And I said to my husband, like, what do they do now? Is that it? It's just fun for them. And so we prayed about it a lot. And we said, well, something we live by our passions are only as good as our urgency. It's really useful in life to be passionate about something and say, Oh, I'll get to it when I have time. And one thing I learned from 911 is we all think we might have time, and we don't really all have that time. Wow, when we have it, we kind of run with it. So you know, we sold our house that we had bought for like 10 months at that time, lost a good amount of money in that real estate transaction, and purchased a new home, so that we had the space to put all the animals on and so a barn three horses wanted to animals leader, and here we are. Wow, Kayla,

Jen Amos: 27:29

that's, wow, I've just, I'm just take I need a minute. Just take just your story.

: 27:37

Yeah, I want to first just say I'm sorry for your loss, especially your father, I, I can understand that as well, because I had lost my dad when I was 10. And you know, that just the just the different stages of depression. And you know, like just questions that you go through in life. And I feel fortunate that like later in life, I was able to acknowledge my abandonment issues. seek out help and also get out of toxic relationships, and all of that stuff. So I, my heart goes out, my heart goes to you. And you're just a wealth of knowledge and you sound so introspective. And I love that you have essentially taken that pain and turned it into a kind of passion into you know, doing this nonprofit and really advocating for people who've gone through trauma. And yeah, I just I've never, I don't think I've ever had a chance to speak to a child of 911. So I'm honored, you know, to have this conversation with you and to have you shared your story and see the good work that you're doing, you know, as a result of it, I think, yeah, it's, that's incredible. I need a minute here to collect to collect my thoughts. But I Yeah, I'm just I'm taken by your story. And I appreciate you sharing it. And this is why I like doing the show because I love I love to learn why people do what they do. Yeah, yeah, more heart and realness into their nonprofit because it's not just the nonprofit, you know, it's every it's your story. You know, it's why it's what got you to start the nonprofit that makes trails of purpose so meaningful. So thank you so much for really sharing, like, why this is important to you. And you know, just just what you do for the veteran community and although things are on hold, you know, hopefully the show will educate people so that when things line up or when things get safer again, that they will come to you and get involved with Charles a purpose.

: 29:31

Oh, absolutely. Yeah, you know, so that's why I say it's, you know, it's an 11 year or more at this point, 15 year kind of journey, but it is a spin off like saying, I mean, you understand you lost your father. You know life is a series of what happens to us what we make of it afterwards. And so I spent how long punishing myself for something that was done to me this week and like you say toxic relationships, bad coping mechanisms toxic Whatever it is, and something probably so many veterans can relate to, right? We go through this tragedy, and then the way we cope, we fill ourselves up, whatever it is. And you know, at one point was like, didn't they get enough? Didn't the terrorist get enough of you? Why are you still living in this and it was like, You're right, you know. And then I kind of woke up one day around, one, and I was like, I'm gonna fight it, but like, we're gonna make them pay for what they did to me by making the world better. And I'm a mess. I'm not saying that. I'm, like, the one who changes the world. I'm so introspective, John, because I've messed up so much in my life. I've had to reflect a whole lot on what I've done. But I say that to be real and vulnerable. I mean, you know, that's what we have to do is somehow take what's been done to us, or what we've experienced, and say, I'm not gonna, like get the better of me, and how I'm not gonna let that go forward and do good for somebody else. But that's what we try to pursue with, you know, trails of purpose as well, is that when they come through the program, once you feel like, Hey, I'm on my feet, and I don't feel like I did when I came in. Great. Now, can you volunteer and mentor another veteran that comes to the door? Because they need you? So it's this cycle? You know, but absolutely. You never know how our lives are leading us. Right?

Jen Amos: 31:24

Yeah, I mean, all you can do is at least especially in today's times now that a lot of people have time to reflect, are forced to. Yeah, I think, yeah, there's no better time to reflect like where you're at in life right now. And like, if you're living a purposeful life, and if you're putting good out there, and really right now, because we don't know what tomorrow is gonna bring, like, we do have to live in the present, and decide, like, am I gonna put good out there or not? And you know, even though the nonprofit is not active right now,

: 31:52

I mean, just the fact that you're still going out there and talking about it, like on a show like this, that I think is you putting good out there. And you know, even in sharing your story and having people understand like, why trails or purpose exists to begin with?

Unknown Speaker: 32:05

Mm hmm. Thank you. Yeah.

Jen Amos: 32:07

Yeah. Well, Kayla, Wow, I feel like we could talk forever.

: 32:12

I feel like we had but yeah, we do have to wrap up. I do want to just thank you so much for your time. And do you have any closing thoughts for let's say that there's a veteran out there that's never worked with horses? What do you want to say to them that could be interested that you would like to invite to be part of trails of purpose?

: 32:30

Yeah, well, that should not stop them. At one point, they never shot a gun before and they weren't real quick. So horses. Horses are, I mean, they're a little more intimidating from what I've heard from the veterans because they're live beings. But that's what makes it challenging. So it's fun. So what I would say is, come out, inquire about us on our website, www dot trails with purpose.com. Or send an email over to info at trails with purpose.com. And ask about signing up, we can send you a ton more information. Like I said, we only require a DD 214, we operate completely free of charge, nobody pays anything to come to our classes, no veteran will ever pay to come to trial for purpose. And so I would say that we do have introductory week where they can come in and learn about horses for handling kind of basic safety, we're never going to put you in with a wild mustang and said, go ahead and paint them you know, like we do where you're at. So we make it challenging for everybody. But we're also aware that everybody in a group setting is somehow force experienced, some don't, some are competent, some are not some have different physical capabilities. So don't worry about the horse part. What I would say is more do you want to engage in community. And that's like, where we start. And then we worry about the horses. That's what I would say to somebody, and then anybody who wants to volunteer, we are always, always always looking for volunteers. We have like 37 volunteers in our first year. And they're just amazing. Like, a lot of veterans also volunteers. So they really get it and they make this community that is just the coolest thing ever to watch. And they've all like become friends. It's just so cool. So I would say if you want to volunteer, if you want to participate or you know somebody who wants to participate or volunteer or you want to donate, as I said, we operate free of charge. So as a 501 C three, everything is tax deductible, and we don't operate without donations. So like you were donation to trails with purpose is very, very tangible. It goes directly into our organization, and our mission. So that's what I would say direct everybody to either trails with purpose.com or our Facebook is trails with purpose veterans, or info at trails of purpose.com is our email. So that's kind of what I would say don't be afraid because of course is or be turned off. Let's do community together.

Jen Amos: 35:00

Beautiful, beautiful. It just so happens that horses are involved. Yeah. Well, Kayla, it's been an absolute pleasure speaking with you today. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk about trails of purpose and more importantly, like, share why you did it, or why you chose to create it. And I also just am honored, you know, to be speaking to a child of 911. So thank you for sharing your story on that. And with that said to our listeners, I want to thank you all for listening and we hope that this episode has given you another piece of knowledge, resource or story that can inspire you to continue to make confident and informed decisions for your family. Kayleigh. Thanks again.

Unknown Speaker: 35:40

Thanks so much for having us. Yes, absolutely.

Jen Amos: 35:42

And to our listeners, thank you so much, and we look forward to speaking with you in the next episode. Tune in next time.

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