Veterans Supporting Veterans


Flanders Fields is on a mission to save the veterans left behind to suffer homelessness and addiction by providing them with renewed purpose through community-building and good works (both domestic and global) that utilize their specialized military training and leadership skills. We are an IRS approved 501(c)(3) Non-Profit.

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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 surgeon John McCrae to write the poem 'In Flanders Fields'.  Poppies are symbols of sleep and even death, but also 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.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,   
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,       
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow       
In Flanders Fields.

Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae

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.

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In a world that's so filled with negativity, it's refreshing to know there are real organizations like Flanders Fields representing a positive influence.

Lance D.

All the members of my group have helped me in so many ways. From job networking opportunities to true friendships, Flanders Fields is full of good hearted members.

Eric S.

From the first time I met the FF members, they made me feel like an equal. I was able to open up about my challenges because I was working with veterans like me.

Eddie M.