FOREST LAKE, Minn. – Retired Hugo Navy veteran Danial Daloia enjoys working with his hands.
“I’m retired, this keeps me going,” he said. “I like to come in and do these things. Without this (woodworking), I don’t know what I would do. Probably sit at home and watch football.”
He helps make a toy box. He made almost 50 of them. He works at the Invisible Wounds Project Support Center in Forest Lake.
“All of this is set up to teach people how to work wood,” Daloia said.
Daloia helps fellow veterans, first responders, healthcare professionals, dispatchers and more master the art form. But it is more than that: for Daloia and his students it is a form of therapy.
“I’ve been retired from the military for 10 years. My stress has gone down a lot – that’s a good thing. And we’ve come across a lot of people who need help,” he said.
Invisible Wounds Project is working to positively impact the lives of those who have served since 2018, but the support center space is new.
“It’s been really exciting to see people come in and connect with other people who understand them,” said Russ Hanes, executive director and founder of Invisible Wounds Project. “That’s the purpose of this whole building.”
That connection with comrades helps start the conversation about mental health – the wounds you can’t see. Hanes says hundreds of people walk through these doors every month, and he averages one to two crisis calls per week.
“It’s incredible to me to be able to impact lives in that way,” Hanes said. “Connection is important. It’s such a critical component. So many of our people are missing that connection. And this is a safe, healthy place to land.”
Sometimes that life-saving connection starts with a cribbage board.
“It helps. It just helps to have an ear to lean on and someone to talk to,” Daloia said.
The Invisible Wounds Project relies heavily on donors and volunteers to keep their mission alive.
Next month, the nonprofit will host a “Holiday Sip and Shop” event on December 7. All proceeds go to the mission of the Invisible Wounds Project.
