Like many others, Jeremy thought he was the only one having trouble. Then he met Chad Robichaux through a mutual friend. Chad had accepted Christ and had found purpose and healing in his marriage. In 2012, Chad and Jeremy created the Mighty Oaks Foundation, initially to serve male combat veterans. Susanne and Chad’s wife, Kathy, developed the women’s program in 2014.
Mighty Oaks’ six-day Legacy Programs help struggling service members/veterans/first responders and their spouses process their pain and learn how to move forward. Men and women are served separately. Each individual is placed in a group under the direction of a team leader and a mentor. These are not professionals speaking to a patient or pastors to a parishioner, Jeremey explained, they are peers. Every team leader has once been a student in the Mighty Oaks program. They all have been in the warriors’ shoes, understand, and have worked through the same challenges at some point.
“Veterans and first responders assemble together to leave behind the weight of struggles like Post Traumatic Stress, fractured relationships, and the relentless grind of life,” the website describes. “For one transformative week at the Mighty Oaks Foundation’s Legacy Program, they are all welcomed with open arms… The hospitality was a glimpse of God’s love, poured out through the hands and hearts of those who served and manifested in newfound dignity restored, hope rekindled, and a renewed sense of purpose.”
“Most of the thousand + active-duty military members, veterans or first responders we serve need far more than just a relationship tweak or a few communication skills. They are dealing with deep issues like substance abuse, infidelity, and patterns of broken relationships,” Jeremy said. A warrior “is probably sitting across from another guy who has allowed God in their life, connected with the resources and can tell them, ‘This is the process – I’ll help you get through it.’ Knowing his team leader can speak from experience provides a lot of hope – not because someone tells them it’s possible, but because someone tells them his story,” Jeremy added.
“Every person on our team can speak from experience and knows broken marriages can be repaired.”
Female participants come from two distinct backgrounds, Susanne said. Half are military spouses whose marriages have reached a dark place, with many overcoming abuse. Others are themselves veterans or service members who realize their marriage is in trouble. Some are dealing with sexual abuse or other traumatic experiences.
Although not all who find Mighty Oaks are believers, people are drawn to the Biblically based program because they have exhausted all other resources, Jeremy said. Both programs – whether for men or women – start with the concept of personal responsibility. The first step is to focus on themselves and the person they are supposed to be, with a goal of being a godly husband or wife. Their marriage can only be as good as they are, Susanne explained.
“Our people have histories of substance abuse, infidelity, issues that get in the way of even thinking about marriage,” Jeremy said. “We try to get the men to understand the biblical role of the husband and embrace that. Then, we confront who they are and what they have done.” The goal is to figure out what they need and connect them to whatever is the next step. Some need a substance abuse program. Others, a biblical individual or couples’ counselor.
The women also are taught a godly perspective of marriage. “Whether we are doing it or not doesn’t change how God designed it,” Susanne said. “A lot of the things we deal with are not unique to a specific couple. Once someone realizes they’ve been pointing the finger at the other person, they have a lightbulb moment. They realize that if they do their part, their spouse might be encouraged to do theirs, and then they both can move toward having a healthy marriage the way God designed it to be.”
Once a couple is on the right track, Mighty Oaks Foundation connects them to FamilyLife’s Weekend to Remember. A dedicated Foundation team member will help couples select the site and date that is most convenient for them, schedule the weekend and cover the cost to attend. Jeremy considers Weekend to Remember a gold standard resource and prefers to partner with something excellent that has been proven successful than try to reinvent the wheel.
Susanne had a heart to encourage military families further and created a devotional to help them live what Mighty Oaks Foundation calls the 4 B’s – habits that help participants maintain their transformation and walk out their Legacy Plan.
