Cameron Bennett

by Hunter Mon 14 Dec 2020, 3:55 pm

Manitoba veteran forges way for mental health recovery

Published Monday, December 14, 2020

Cameron Bennett, 41, creates a pigtail hook in his new backyard blacksmithing workshop where he plans on helping veterans and first responders work through their mental health issues by teaching them the craft. He said learning and practicing blacksmithing and metalworking has eased his anxiety. He plans on launching his non-profit program in early to mid-2021.

WINNIPEG -- In a blacksmithing workshop tucked at the back end of his St. Adolphe property, a Canadian Armed Forces veteran hammers a furnace-heated metal rod into a pigtail hook.

Cameron Bennett’s Bernese Mountain Dog, nicknamed Cuddle Bear, won’t leave his side, as Bennett leans over his anvil in delighted concentration.

Bennett plans on launching a non-profit program next year that will help veterans and first responders work through mental health issues by teaching them the art of blacksmithing and metalworking.

“I just really found that after I got out of the military, I had a lot more problems than I thought I did,” said Bennett, who left the military due to mental health and physical problems after 20 years of service in 2018. During his service, Bennett served on three combat tours in Afghanistan and one peacekeeping tour in what was formerly known as Yugoslavia.

The 41-year-old veteran described himself as “a little bit of an angry army guy” before he discovered the craft through a friend. Bennett said he jumped at the opportunity to study blacksmithing at the Haliburton School of Art and Design, figuring he should give it a shot if it was helping his friend.

“I absolutely loved it,” said Bennett, who also studied under local blacksmith Jim Kehler. “As I started doing it, I started calming down more.”

Bennett’s move paid off as his days spent in the shop calmed his anxiety and knocked him out at night.

He recalls another friend saying, “‘Hey, this has really made you a lot more positive. I mean you still have a lot of ways to go, but you’re focused and you’re actually getting back to the way you used to be.’”

The idea to share the craft with veterans and first responders occurred to Bennett when he moved back to Manitoba around when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the province.

The project, unofficially known as Forging Ahead, plans on guiding two to four people per six-hour session through small tasks at their own pace, to support them as they recover and regain confidence within themselves in a safe, secure environment.

Veteran Affairs Canada suggests up to 32 per cent of Canadians in high-risk groups including military, police, and paramedics will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in their lifetimes.

Seventy-one per cent of Canadian veterans who are receiving disability benefits for a mental health condition suffer from PTSD.

Bennet said he hopes to help integrate these veterans and first responders back into the workforce, many of whom face a stigma that makes them feel ashamed and hide their mental health issues.

“The current programs that are created to help with PTSD and other mental health conditions are based upon teaching members individual tools and resources to deal with their conditions,” writes Bennett in an overview proposal of the project. “This can create an increased mental health burden if conditions persist and can even cause regression in some cases.”

So far, Bennett said he’s invested $40,000 into acquiring equipment and insurance and constructing a new blacksmithing workshop in his backyard on Hebert Road.

The safety-focused workshop is outfitted with an anvil and propane furnace, along with other machines and tools, many of which he’s created himself. Bennett still plans on installing a heating, ventilation, and air condition (HVAC) system and securing a pneumatic power hammer, among other items, for veterans with physical injuries.

Bennett said the Royal Canadian Legion has helped him get his non-profit organization running. He said he’s waiting on a response from the Canadian Armed Forces and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, where he hopes to garner interest in the project.

Bennett has also launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover construction and maintenance costs for his project.

https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/manitoba-veteran-forges-way-for-mental-health-recovery-1.5230284