Standing With Veterans
Aaron Starrett was 18 years old in 2009 when he left his hometown of Austin, Texas, for four years in the Air Force. He served as a munitions specialist in Korea and Germany, helping prepare aircraft with heavy explosives before leaving the military in 2014.
By Kevin Allenspach
Following his service, he worked for more than a decade with a fitness company in California, but he never found a substitute for the camaraderie he experienced while in uniform. In mid-2024, after he’d returned to be closer to family, he found himself in crisis without a job or a place to live.
“In the military, you’re used to being part of something, and the more I was out of it, the more I struggled because I had no designated mission,” Starrett said. “I got to a very bad spot in my life and, if it wasn’t for my very forward-thinking sister, I’m not sure what would’ve happened, but it wouldn’t have been good.”
She searched online for a place that could quickly receive Aaron and found Eagle’s Healing Nest, which shelters veterans, service members and even their family members who struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and addiction. Shawn Kor, a former Marine who became director for Eagle’s Healing Nest in 2023, remembers her outreach. Within days, Starett was on his way to Minnesota—a faraway place he never contemplated visiting—to get himself stabilized.
“He’s one of the reasons Eagle’s Healing Nest exists,” Kor said. “He’s a brother who needed help.”
Kor first learned about Eagle’s Healing Nest several years ago through a fellow military officer who had benefited from its support. Curious and wanting to give back, he began volunteering. When a newly formed board invited him to consider becoming the director, he hesitated—until he spoke with several residents. Again and again, he heard the same message: “This place saved my life.” It was all he needed to convince him to step up and lead.
Eagle’s Healing Nest was founded in 2012 by a military mom who wanted to help her son after he returned from deployment in Iraq. It houses as many as 75 people on a 124-acre campus with two dozen buildings. It had been a state juvenile reformatory for most of the 20th century.
The organization differs from most veterans’ facilities in several ways: it doesn’t require referrals, has no time limit, and it doesn’t charge residents for their stay. It is funded through a combination of donations, grants and reimbursement for its services.
In 2022, however, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office began reviewing the organization’s financial practices, raising concerns about the founder’s use of funds for personal expenses and her veteran husband’s failure to report certain taxable income. The probe led to the suspension of Eagle’s Healing Nest’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit certification, prompting the couple to step away and allow new leadership to take over.
By the time a different board was in place and Kor was hired, Eagle’s Healing Nest was in default on its contract-for-deed payments on two properties. The default affected the main campus and a smaller facility in Redwood Falls, where those who have completed their programming in Sauk Centre can pursue vocational training in a safe and sober atmosphere. The contract holders were threatening to foreclose.
“We were under the gun,” said Kor, who also served 24 years in the Minnesota Army National Guard before retiring as a command sergeant major. “We approached some banks that were willing to help, but we needed the Initiative Foundation to join the lenders to put together a package that would save us. If it weren’t for that, we would’ve had to shut down.”
Along with United Prairie Bank and Minnesota National Bank, the Initiative Foundation loaned $250,000 to help Eagle’s Healing Nest convert the contracts for deed into traditional 20-year mortgages. With Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) designation from the U.S. Treasury, the Initiative Foundation is one of the only CDFIs serving small businesses that is located in Central Minnesota. In 2023, it created the Impact Fund, a subsidiary that anchors the Foundation’s CDFI lending programs. By providing access to capital and serving as a resource magnet to support borrowers who may face barriers, CDFIs like the Initiative Foundation help create opportunities for economic growth and empowerment in disadvantaged areas.
Confidence in Kor and the Nest’s new board chair, Beverly Steele, gave lenders the assurance they needed that the loan was a wise investment.
“We recognize that these services are in dire need,” said Tim Swanson, Initiative Foundation business finance manager. “This was a mission-driven loan. There’s an obvious demand for this, unfortunately, and we were glad to be the missing piece to the puzzle.”
Veterans continue to face higher rates of anxiety, depression, PTSD and alcoholism than the general public. Most alarming, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, more than 6,400 U.S. military veterans die by suicide each year—including nearly one every four days in Minnesota.
Eagle’s Healing Nest supports recovery through five pillars: physical and mental health, social connection, spiritual healing and service to others. Its peer-to-peer programs address substance use, PTSD, brain injuries and suicide prevention. The Nest partners with outside providers and offers transportation—making more than 2,000 trips to the St. Cloud VA last year alone. On site, veterans and their families can access education, art therapy, a gym, a music studio and other creative activities, often led by fellow veterans.
These days, Starrett is one of the veteran leaders. He’s lived at the Nest for nearly a year and he’s miles—literally and figuratively—from where he was when his sister first sought help.
“Healing can mean a million things to different people, but I came here for that and I found a lot of others wanting to do the same thing,” he said. “I’m still a resident, but I’ve got goals I want to accomplish and opportunities to pursue now. I’m not sure exactly when it will happen, but I know the time is coming when I’ll soar the nest.”
If you know of a veteran in need of support, call (320) 251-6200 or visit eagleshealingnest.org.
Learn more about the Impact Fund and find out if your business or business idea qualifies for lending.