Chimney Corner, Egypt Falls

October 2, 2018

Chimney Corner, Egypt Falls purchased for veterans aftercare


Fabian Henry, left, talks about Egypt Falls with his father Fabian Henry Sr. on Sept. 29. Henry is an army veteran who recently bought 130 acres in Pipers Glen, including the falls, to build a holistic retreat primarily for veterans suffering from PTSD and other mental illnesses. Henry has also purchased Chimney Corner beach and a lot in Inverness overlooking the fifth hole of Cabot Links. - Nikki Sullivan

Former Marijuana for Trauma owner taking veteran aftercare into his own hands

PIPERS GLEN, N.S. — Fabian Henry’s passion for helping veterans is as strong as his frustration over how little there was for him when he was discharged from the Canadian Armed Forces.

Now that passion is a driving force behind the New Waterford native’s new charity GAFF (Global Alliance Foundation Fund) and his desire to create aftercare for his fellow brothers and sisters in arms.

“No one is doing any of these things for us as the suicide rate still continues. There’s no followup or aftercare for vets upon release. No one is securing land for us … No one is doing anything,” the 39-year-old father of two said, standing on his property in Pipers Glen where Egypt Falls is located.


The aftercare program, Veterans for Healing, is the reason why Henry has been buying some of Cape Breton’s most coveted properties: 130 acres in Pipers Glen, 300 acres and the 2,000-foot beach at Chimney Corner and a 1.5 acre lot in Inverness overlooking the fifth hole of Cabot Links golf course.

Veterans for Healing aims to help soldiers transitioning from service to civilian life, particularly those suffering from mental illnesses like post-traumatic stress (PTSD.) It will be primarily funded by GAFF and money raised for the charity came from the sale of Marijuana for Trauma, a national medical marijuana education resource Henry founded in 2013.


Fabian Henry smiles as he greets some horses on his Piper Glen property. Henry said his Veterans for Healing retreat on the property will use horses for animal therapy once operational in 2020.

The company sold for $3.6 million and 40 million shares in a new company called Canada House. The money was put in an escrow account and has grown to $18 million to be used solely for GAFF and Veterans for Healing.

“We agreed early on that MFT was to be donated to create a veteran charity like none the world has ever seen,” Henry said.

“(It will) ‘bridge the gap in care’ from the transition of being a high-level functioning soldier to a disabled veteran. It’s tough.”

Henry knows first-hand how tough it is and used his experience to create the holistic health-care model around Veterans for Healing. During his 12 years of service, Henry did six tours as a combat engineer and developed PTSD. Discharged in 2012, Henry was taking nine pills like clonazepam a day. Soon he realized the Canadian military wasn’t going to help him recover and he believes it contributed to his downward spiral from 2007-2012.

With Veterans for Healing, Henry is aiming to help people in the last phase of care needed to recover from trauma. According to the GAFF philosophy, this comes after people have found medicine to help with their symptoms and professional medical help.

The property at Pipers Glen includes Egypt Falls and will be a holistic healing retreat aimed at veterans but open to anyone suffering from mental health issues, particularly PTSD. People who attend are given the opportunity to participate in different activities like horseback riding, gardening or yoga and meditation. Henry was able to buy the property for $220,000 and estimates costs to build cabins, bathrooms and a main gathering lodge between $1.2-$1.5 million. Henry said plans are to have it operational by 2020.

Henry has worked out a deal with Inverness County to keep access to Egypt Falls public. This lease agreement with the municipality includes building a staircase to the falls to protect the trees and make it safer for people going to see the falls.

Plans for Chimney Corner, which Henry bought for $4 million, is to keep it as is. At this point, there are no plans for new infrastructure and it will stay open to the public.

“We’re bringing back Dean Evans’ rules,” said Henry, who has family connections to Chimney Corner.

“If you’re not going to do family-oriented activities then you aren’t invited.”

Starting in 2020, the beach will be closed to the public one weekend a year for a Veterans for Healing music festival. This festival will feature a big-name headliner, like Chris Stapleton, and will be for veterans and their families.

“Veterans can relax, let their defensive posture go and connect with those who’ve been there and understand the struggles,” explained Henry.


Fabian Henry, founder of Marijuana for Trauma and Veterans for Healing, stands beside the small home he has purchased for his property in Pipers Glen, Inverness County. Plans are to move there with his partner, Juliane Nowe, in eight years after his children have graduated from high school in New Brunswick.

The property in Inverness will be a restaurant with live entertainment and is being overseen by Coun. Jim Mustard who is also the CEO of Henry’s company, Breton CannaPharms. Open to the public, the restaurant will be free for veterans who have been approved to use Veterans for Healing services on the island.

All the services being offered through Veterans for Healing will be free for vets and available to others for a fee. Costs and how to apply to use these services will be determined at a later date.

“Trauma is trauma. Doesn’t matter how it happened, the symptoms are the same, the lifestyle is the same,” Henry said.

“We want you to leave here knowing there’s someone out there who loves you … That you don’t have to stay isolated in the basement.”

The project has already caught the eye of Allegiance Films who are featuring Henry and his veterans’ aftercare project in the upcoming documentary Prescribed. It is about Canadian veterans using cannabis as medicine instead of pharmaceutical drugs and is the sequel to Unprescribed, a film about U.S. veterans on prescription meds for PTSD. Filming starts the weekend of Nov. 9-11 when Henry will have his first Remembrance Day ceremony at Pipers Glen.

As far as Henry’s research has shown there is no other aftercare program like his in the world.

“Look out world, we are changing things,” he said.

Bio

Fabian Henry

Founder: Marijuana for Trauma (MFT)

Sold: 2013, $3.6 million

Founder: GAFF charity, Veterans for Healing

Money for GAFF: From sale of MFT

GAFF to start: Aftercare services for veterans

Where: Chimney Corner, Pipers Glen, Inverness

*Money for MFT sale put in trust for GAFF.

*Money now at $18 million.


nicole.sullivan@cbpost.com


https://www.thechronicleherald.ca/news/regional/chimney-corner-egypt-falls-purchased-for-veterans-aftercare-246487/