Build Something That Outlasts All of Us.
Hope for Healing is raising $5,000,000 in Phase 1 — and a minimum of $8,000,000 over the full campaign — to construct a 16,000-square-foot Equine Therapeutic Campus in Hampden, Maine. This will be a permanent, purpose-built home for veteran healing, rural mental health services, and faith-informed recovery serving Penobscot County and all of Maine.
The Impact at Scale
Maine has the highest per-capita veteran population in New England — and one of the least-served rural mental health regions in the country. Hope for Healing’s permanent campus will change that.
The completed Spirit Warrior Campus will serve up to 500 veterans and first responders annually through equine-assisted adaptive riding (EAAR), provide 12 permanent jobs in Penobscot County, and anchor a regional center for trauma-informed care that serves families, youth, and community members — all at no cost to participants.
Why This. Why Now. Why Maine.
Because 10% of Maine’s population has served — and too many of them are coming home to silence, isolation, and a mental health system that was not built for them. Rural Maine has fewer behavioral health providers per capita than almost anywhere in the country. The closest equine therapy programs are hours away. Hope for Healing is already filling that gap with Emma and Penny — but we are doing it without walls.
This campus is not a want. It is a need. And it is needed now — while the momentum is here, while the land is available, and while a generation of veterans who served in the post-9/11 era is entering the most critical window of their mental health journey.
Maine because this is where Kim Slininger felt the call. This is where the horses are. This is where the need is greatest and the community is ready. What we build in Hampden will become a model for rural veteran healing across New England.
Ways to Give
Every gift — of any size — moves us closer to breaking ground. Hope for Healing is a 501©(3) nonprofit. EIN 87-2521639. All donations are fully tax-deductible.
Founding Herd donors — those who give before the first shovel hits the ground — will be permanently recognized on the Spirit Warrior Campus donor wall.
Named Giving Opportunities
$500,000+ — Name a Barn or Arena
$250,000 — Name a Therapy Suite
$100,000 — Name a Pasture or Paddock
$50,000 — Name a Healing Garden
$25,000 — Name a Room or Office
$10,000 — Sponsor a Year of Veteran Sessions
Any amount — Join the Founding Herd