Wood & Metal Shop: Building Something Meaningful Out of What Remains
Turning what’s been discarded into something useful
The Shop is where warriors work with their hands to build, create, and express what words can’t always capture. Wood and metal. Shaping, carving, hammering, fitting. The process is physical and emotional.
Working with raw materials mirrors the work happening inside. Taking something discarded or broken and transforming it into something functional and meaningful. Each project is different. Each warrior creates what resonates with them.
Available at our Texas and Virginia campuses.
How It Works
Warriors are guided through the process of working with wood and metal as part of their healing. This hands-on elective helps warriors:
- Access and process emotions through creative expression
- Develop interpersonal skills by working alongside peers
- Reduce stress through focused, purposeful work
- Increase self-esteem by creating something tangible
- Achieve personal insights through the parallels between crafting and recovery
The Shop has expanded at both campuses with plenty of room for warriors to work.
Warrior-Made Items
Warriors in treatment can create items for the Frontline Healing Foundation. Proceeds help raise funds for other warriors who need access to treatment.
American Flags
Handcrafted by veterans and first responders in the woodshop. Each piece of wood is selected, cut, shaped, and assembled by warriors in treatment. These flags were made by those who were sworn to protect them.
One alumnus explained it simply: “I can smile again because of this place.”
Native American Artifacts
Old railroad stakes, discarded pieces of metal that once held something together, get heated and hammered into traditional Native American tomahawk designs. Each strike can release feelings that have been buried. Anger. Grief. Frustration. Then the wooden handle gets carved, sanded, and fitted in the woodshop. Two materials. Two processes. One finished piece of cultural art that represents transformation.
100% of proceeds from warrior-made items go to the Frontline Healing Foundation to help other warriors access treatment.
How the Program Started
Christian Bagge, Honorary Board of Advisors Member, took over the metal shop and created the woodshop. This is where the warrior-made flags were born. It gave warriors another avenue to express emotions through art and continue to heal.
The artwork has become more in demand as word gets out, with opportunities to showcase warrior creations at various locations.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
You’ve handled pressure, responsibility, and situations most people never face.
Asking for help doesn’t take that away. It protects it.
If drugs have started to take more than they give, you don’t have to figure this out alone. Support is available right now, and the conversation is confidential.
