5.5 acres
in Gentilly, New Orleans
58
Residential units
80%
Veteran households
277
Combined years of
military service
Community Statement:
As an intentional community, Bastion’s core mission is to cultivate a living environment full of meaningful, lasting relationships among neighbors in which our veterans can once again feel a sense of belonging, identity, and purpose. This is embodied in our motto, “Community as the Intervention.” Our transformative, evidence-based on-site services and resources assist our veterans in building their independence, health, and wellness, but the core source of support our veterans receive at Bastion comes through their relationships with one another.
Our Approach: Community as the Intervention
Bastion uses a multigenerational approach pioneered by Generations of Hope to facilitate active engagement and incubate positive relationships that endure for a lifetime. Our veterans are making new friends, starting new careers, going back to school, and more. They are using the community to connect, belong, find purpose, and discover new interests and identities in the their post-military lives. These are the early signs of post traumatic growth.
Our Residential Programs + Resources
Bastion takes a holistic approach to health and wellness, providing programs and resources designed to increase independence and maximize overall wellbeing for veterans and families. Bastion employs clinical experts including two staff social workers, two occupational therapists, and a certified vocational rehabilitation counselor and brain injury specialist. By providing residents and program participants with onsite providers, Bastion eliminates many of the barriers veterans typically face when trying to access mental health and wellness services including cost barriers, transportation issues, and lengthy appointment wait times.
Check out an overview of our onsite programs and community resources below.
WELLNESS
Bastion’s staff social workers provide individual counseling and case management, facilitate wellness classes, host social events, and help with crisis intervention. They connect our veterans with cost-free resources like acupuncture, massage, and adaptive yoga by bringing community-based providers to Bastion.
Our social work team launched Bastion’s inaugural Wellness Fest in 2023, and hosts wellness programming throughout the year that are open to the public. Programs like our Wellness Intensive aim to build a supportive community where participants learn about helpful ways to improve mental health, especially in relation to anxiety, depression, and stress. Participants are given opportunities to try out new modalities, connect with others in an open and supportive environment, and practice new tools and techniques.
VOCATIONAL TRAINING & OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
Bastion’s Program Director oversees Bastion Ambassadors with support from our occupational therapists. Bastion Ambassadors is a vocational training program that provides veterans with individualized onsite work opportunities and currently employs 11 Bastion veterans. Our occupational therapists and vocational rehabilitation counselor also lead our Headway day program, which serves post-9/11 veterans living with traumatic brain injuries and other neurological conditions (learn more about Headway here) and host a weekly cooking group.
NUTRITIONAL WELLNESS
Residents have access to a food pantry supported by the Bob Woodruff Foundation, through which Bastion distributes an average of 500 pounds of food per month into resident homes in partnership with Top Box Foods. Through the Bastion Ambassadors program, Bastion employs two resident chefs to cook meals for the community and lead educational meals where residents can learn how to manage or improve chronic health problems through dietary choices.
AGRICULTURE
Our food pantry supply is bolstered by our community garden and chicken coop, both of which provide work training opportunities for our residents and program participants who built and maintain it. Thanks to the NOLA Tree Project, Bastion has planted more than 30 new trees in the past year.
Harvest Highlights from Bastion’s Community Garden