At Doc’s Healing Hives (DHH), veteran Tim Doherty is building an army to fight for America’s veterans.
His soldiers are bees. “I knew beekeeping helped me, and therefore I knew it could help others, Doherty, DHH’s founder, said. Right now, DHH needs volunteers so it can expand its work for American veterans, he said. As of now, DHH’s property at 349 Veterans Drive in Morganton has room to host two veterans for workshops on beekeeping. Doherty is working to build two geodesic domes that will allow him to host 10 veterans during each DHH workshop. Steve Stacy Roofing, House Doctors of North Georgia, Ace Hardware and Home Depot are all helping to build improvements on DHH’s property, Doherty said. But more help is needed to finish the domes. With three sessions a year, these new resources will let DHH serve 24 more veterans each year. This year, the sessions were held March 28 and 29, April 11 and April 12, and May 16 and May 17. DHH is in the beginning stages of getting a federal grant. The additional facilities they could build with grant money could let them host almost 20 veterans per session. “If that grant is approved, then we’ll be able to use federal monies to build out the property as a retreat,” Doherty said. DHH also just opened a garden in Sandy Springs for veterans in the Shepherd Center’s SHARE Program, he said. This program works with veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). “I went to that program myself, and I like giving back to veterans that go through that program,” Doherty said. Doherty said bees helped him recover from his time in Afghanistan. “I needed something positive to do,” he said.
He found that beekeeping helped him get his mind off memories from his time at war. “You’ve got to be focused on what you’re doing. You don’t think about anything else,” Doherty said. Studies have shown the buzzing of bees creates a frequency that promotes mental reset, he added. “In a veteran, [beekeeping] reduces depression, anxiety, thoughts of suicide and gives them a purpose,” Doherty said. For veterans, resources like these can be lifesaving. Twenty-two veterans commit suicide each year, Doherty said. He hopes to bring this number down. Doherty gives veterans who attend his beekeeping workshops free help and resources worth at least $1,000. Any veteran who completes their beekeeping program receives a hive, 120 hours of training and a trip to the Georgia Beekeepers Association conference, he said. “We truly believe in helping everybody,” Doherty said.
