Warriors Heart Lodge holding grand opening

Warriors Heart Lodge will hold a grand opening on Saturday, May 22 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at 700 State Hwy 16 S in sync with Mental Health Awareness Month (May).

The free event celebrates the new location that primarily provides Sober Living, Outpatient IOP and Brain Treatment Therapy services exclusively for warriors (active duty military, veteran, first responders and EMTs/ paramedics) who’ve completed their 42-day Warriors Heart residential treatment program.

“Our Warriors Heart team is dedicated to helping warriors rebuild their lives and become ‘sober, confident warriors,’” CEO and Co-Founder Josh Lannon said in a press release, “This expansion supports our vision to ‘to bring 1 million warriors ‘home’, and we are grateful to the Bandera community for their support.”

The Warriors Heart Lodge was formerly the Bandera Lodge, and now plays a central role in providing clients with a full “Strength Through Healing” continuum of care at Warriors Heart, which includes Detox, Inpatient, Intensive Outpatient / IOP, Telehealth Outpatient, Sober Living and Aftercare services.

The lodge was acquired in late 2020 to help meet the growing needs of warriors who are struggling with addiction, PTSD, mild TBI and other co-occurring issues, and deserve to heal with dignity and respect.

It now has 38 rooms, allowing for 52 warriors to have structured living for a minimum of 60 days after successfully completing the Warriors Heart Inpatient Program. It gives clients a time of transition in a safe environment after residential treatment.

While staying at the Warriors Heart Lodge, clients can benefit from experiential groups, guest speakers, equine therapy, nutrition advice and advanced life skills. In addition, clients can continue their personal growth through psychoeducation,12-step programs (including Warriors Anonymous), trauma work and EMDR (eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing.)

Warriors also have fellowship and gatherings at the swimming pool, large patio with outdoor seating and a custom gas grill for cookouts. Many attend firepit AA meetings at the river at night or reflect there during the day. In their down time, clients can play volleyball, horseshoes or badminton.

“We are grateful to our warriors, dedicated team and the Bandera community for supporting the new Warriors Heart Lodge,” said Co-Founder Lisa Lannon. Thank you for being part of the solution to heal our military, veterans and first responders when they need us most, just as they were always there when we needed them.”

Former Special Forces and Warriors Heart Co-Founder Tom Spooner (U.S. Army with 21 years of service, 1990- 2011) added, “We are dedicated to reducing the alarming number of veteran and first responder suicides by providing our protectors with a safe place to heal with their peers, and the lodge lets us heal more warriors.”