By Bruce Paul
Hidden beauty is often found in the places people overlook, waiting quietly to be seen. This is the mantra of the proposed “First Responder Behavioral Health & Recovery Center in Iowa County, Wisconsin.
Tellurian Behavioral Health, in partnership with the Law Enforcement Death Response Team, wants to provide a transformational opportunity for those who serve the public. Every day, our firefighters, police officers, EMTs, paramedics, dispatchers, and other first responders, including Veterans are available for us. The Hidden Beauty Retreat is a place created to provide a clinical setting where people who spend their lives caring for others can receive care for themselves.
The property is in Spring Green and is on ~255 acres in a private natural setting including trails, gardens, and gathering areas. The 16 residential beds will be part of an existing lodge-style environment that will feel private, dignified, and restorative! In the future, cabins for family visitors will be considered.
The repeated exposure to death, injury, violence, overdoses, suicide, grief, and human suffering has long-term psychological and emotional effects. Hidden Beauty Retreat will be staffed by peer support people who understand and are willing to support the residents. Therapy, psychiatric, nursing, medication, and other family services will be provided to get to a place of wellness. Wellness includes nutrition, sleep, outdoor recovery, fitness, and mindfulness.
Tellurian has been a dedicated 501(c)(3) for over 55 years and has helped people overcome adversity, restore hope, and build healthier, more productive lives. Tellurian has a positive history of providing service and commitment to healing and feels this is another extraordinary opportunity to create a nationally recognized model. This project will focus on caring for those people who dedicate their lives to caring for all of us.
This project is a $10 million vision to acquire property, convert the existing structures, and bring them up to code to establish the clinical program. It will also provide a reserve to help until fully up to capacity and be responsible. Additional campaign priorities of clinical equipment, technology, licensing, pre-opening staffing, furnishings, security, and patient scholarships will be needed.
We have been asked to give a transformational gift to secure the property and establish the physical and clinical foundation for first responders to become a Hidden Beauty Retreat located in Spring Green. More information and links can be found at the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office on Facebook. For corporate/foundation donations, contact Mike Sasse, president of WI Law Enforcement Death Response, or Kevin Florek with Tellurian Behavioral Health. All donations are tax-deductible to a long-established 501(c)(3) non-profit.
With the solemn 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, it is a reminder to us all of the continued need for a focused treatment place. When you sit in special meetings and discussions, you become more aware of the need as the accumulation of trauma, accumulated stress, sleep disruption, and substance abuse risks.
This includes the repeated exposure to emergencies, loss, uncertainty, and high-stakes decisions that are not forgotten. Many do not want to appear weak to those who depend on them, so Hidden Beauty Retreat will be a huge addition to the available resources.