The Poppy
The poppy is the enduring symbol of remembrance of WWI, one of the deadliest conflicts with roughly 8.5 million soldiers dead. In Western Europe, some of the fiercest battles took place across the landscape. Through the horrific battlefield, red poppy flowers would continue to grow, inspiring a surgeon, John McCrae, to write the poem 'In Flanders Fields'. Poppies are symbols of sleep and even death, but poppies are also symbols of regeneration. In Christianity, the poppy symbolizes not only the blood of Christ, but his resurrection and ascent to Heaven.
As a sign of remembrance, the poppy flower is relevant to those who served in Afghanistan, or those who have fallen victim to the opioid epidemic. Opiate painkillers and heroin are both produced from poppies, and this very fact is the reason Flanders Fields uses the poppy flower as both a significant reminder of the blood shed in war, and the addiction and PTSD that follows.
function and task
Sobriety
To sponsor, house, counsel and otherwise encourage veterans in active addiction or crisis to make the choice to seek help. The first step always comes after the decision to live a better life, and Flanders Fields will show every veteran we can find that their lives and sacrifices are worthy. We lose far to many every day, and fentanyl has flamed the urgency for those that remain.
Training for Life
To equip graduates of the Flanders Fields program with the training, certifications, and skill sets to continue the path of purposeful living. Relapse and readmittance rates are historically high because too many facilities only do half the job. The environmental and socioeconomic factors are not sufficiently addressed in current programs to create successful outcomes.
Community Revitalization
To ensure Flanders Fields graduates live our the 12th step of recovery by reaching out themselves to the others still living in active addiction. Through a multiplicative effort and by fomenting mindful citizenship as core to the program, the ultimate goal is to establish higher baselines for quality of life and the pool of available skilled labor in substance-ravaged communities everywhere.
