Barr Announces Grant to Increase Equine-Assisted Therapy in Woodford County

Grant will increase Life Adventure Center's therapeutic mental health resources for our nation's veterans.

October 16, 2018

Nationwide, there are more than 150,000 veterans seeking help for mental health issues and post-traumatic stress disorder per year. Today, Life Adventure Center, a not-for-profit in Woodford County, received a $25,350 grant through the Department of Veterans Affairs Adaptive Sports Grant (ASG) Program to expand its evidence-based equine-assisted therapy services for Kentucky’s veterans.

“Our nation’s veterans have made a commitment to serving our country and it’s our duty to provide services that help them overcome the invisible scars of combat,” said Congressman Barr. “As the Horse Capital of the World, it’s no surprise there are many not-for-profits in the Sixth District dedicated to pairing our veterans with retired thoroughbreds as a way to overcome these struggles. I’ve been a proud advocate for federal funding for equine-assisted therapy programs, and I applaud the dedicated work of Life Adventure Center in giving back to our community’s veterans.”

Life Adventure Center Executive Director Tim Magill said, “We are thrilled to be a first-time recipient of the VA Adaptive Sports Grant. We are thankful for Congressman Barr’s support throughout this process. His office helped us become the sole Kentucky recipient of these funds, which will allow us to serve our veterans through various equine initiatives. We look forward to beginning programming in the coming weeks!”

As the Chairman of the Congressional Horse Caucus, Congressman Barr has advocated for evidenced-based equine-assisted therapy programs to improve mental health treatment resources for our nation’s veterans. The Adaptive Sports Grant (ASG) Program, through the Department of Veterans Affairs, offers resources to help treat veterans suffering from the unseen psychological wounds such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

This year, Congressman Barr successfully introduced and passed an amendment to increase the ASG’s funding by $5 million, and this amendment was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which was signed into law on March 23, 2018.