Project Sanctuary Using Tiny Homes To Bring Healing To Veterans Families
Pagosa Springs is a small mountain town in southwestern Colorado, spectacularly situated up against the Continental Divide. Tiny houses are sporadically scattered here and there, but rarely do they make the news. Imagine my interest when I spotted an article on August 21, 2025 in our weekly newspaper (The Pagosa Sun) about the local appearance of tiny abodes, their approval process, and the important role they are slated to play in a place that provides care to military families.
Over the last year, four new tiny houses have been delivered to a special property high in the these Colorado Rockies. As we speak, they are being modified and integrated to fulfill a purpose on a piece of land whose beauty must be seen to be believed. The craggy peaks of the southern Rockies scrape the deep blue sky. Ponderosa pine trees breathe a heavenly scent into the clear, clean air. The majesty of the mountains seems to embrace this property recently acquired by Project Sanctuary: the perfect home for this non-profit organization dedicated to the care of veterans and their families.
What began for me as an afternoon drive just to check out these tiny abodes morphed into an extraordinary adventure that deserves all the exposure and credit I can help provide.
Granby Retreat Center Destroyed by Forest Fire
Heather Ehle, CEO and founder of Project Sanctuary
In 2020 their retreat center in Granby , Colorado was wiped out by the East Troublesome forest fire. After years of searching by CEO and founder Heather Ehle she found a retreat center available in Pagosa Springs and was able to buy this 42 acre facility that was almost tailor made for their mission.
It includes the main lodge complete with commercial kitchen and multiple sleeping and showering areas and two additional cabins with sleeping areas. However, these sleeping areas almost emulate army barracks with communal bathrooms and showers, semi-private sleeping areas and only a few private bedrooms for couples. It’s definitely built with just the veteran in mind, not the family.
As tailor made as these facilities seem they will require extensive remodeling to accommodate families.
The Tiny House Solution
To the left of this lodge building shown above are four existing RV sites with full hookups. The county was amenable to tiny houses on wheels, built to RVIA codes, as an acceptable structure to be placed in this area.
The tiny homes were built and donated by another non-profit organization directed at providing homes for veterans, Operation Tiny Home.
Operation Tiny Home builds tiny homes for veterans by veterans. Their nation wide workshops teach veterans home building skills. With these new skills they can not only build their own tiny homes but create employment opportunities for their continued well being.
This beautiful combination of two veteran directed organizations is helping Project Sanctuary provide comfortable family housing during their six day retreats without the delay of remodeling the existing structures.
Each tiny home has a floor level master bedroom and two lofts for the kids. There’s a basic relaxing area and a small kitchen so the participants can retire from the group areas to rest and recoup.
For more information about how Operation Tiny Home is helping to alleviate the house crisis visit this page of the Tiny Life Consulting website: Tiny Houses and the Housing Crisis
Therapeutic Retreats
Project Sanctuary hosts therapeutic retreats in three states across the country that are staffed and designed by Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists, licensed counselors, and social workers. Retreats are open to active-duty service members, retirees, veterans, Reserve and Guard families (currently serving or past service) from all branches of the military (including Coast Guard) and all eras. All families, including the LGBTQ+ community are welcome at our retreats.
During the retreats attendees have therapy sessions in relationship reconnection, family communication, and navigating mental well-being. The children experience fun, age appropriate activities reinforcing similar topics to ensure the family can come together with healthy relationships. See more details about this process on this page of the Project Sanctuary website.
The families also get to participate in fun indoor and out door activities enjoying the Colorado mountain environment.
More than just a six-day retreat from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, Project Sanctuary creates a unique experience of hope and healing carefully designed, orchestrated, and overseen by professionals, many of whom are veterans themselves. “Project Sanctuary believes that every military family has the right and ability to heal. Veterans and service members often struggle to transition into a “new normal” after service or deployment. Faced with higher rates of unemployment, addiction, suicide, and other challenges, military families too often fight their battles alone.” (from their website)
There are many organizations to help veterans manage their PTSD and other issues related to their military service but only Project Sanctuary serves the veteran, the entire family, and loved ones all together. These unique six day retreats work on ending domestic violence and building hope for the future.
It’s one thing to help only the veteran who then return home to the same situation as before with family not on the same page. There are a lot better results when the entire group, veteran, family, and loved ones go home all working together and on the same page moving forward.
The tiny homes will keep the families together in comfortable surroundings allowing them time to integrate what they’ve learned into their family unit without distraction.
2026 Retreat Schedule and Retreat Application for Project Sanctuary
The 2026 retreat schedule has not been finalized but the first retreat for the Patriot Pines center near Pagosa Springs will hopefully be in February. Project Sanctuary has four other retreat centers: Historic Banning Mills in Whitesburg, Georgia; Sandy Cove in North East Maryland; Epworthy By The Sea near St. Simons Georgia; and the Lakeview Conference Center by Palestine, Texas.
If you would like to attend one of their retreats there is an application form to complete. When choosing a location, keep in mind that the families are responsible for their own travel arrangements.
The goal at Project Sanctuary is to place the family in an appropriate retreat within three to four months of the application.
Opportunities to Help and Get Involved in Project Sanctuary
The folks at Project Sanctuary would love your help. Contributions are always welcome. There are additional ways to help:
- Volunteer: Volunteer to help at an event or retreat near you.
- Sponsor a fundraiser event
- Give While You Shop: Link your King Sooper, or City Market rewards card to Project Sanctuary.
- Donate A Vehicle
- Legacy Giving: Project Sanctuary can be named as a beneficiary in your will in a number of ways.
- Join the Monthly Giving Program
It costs about $40,000 to host one retreat.
Military families—those who sacrifice so much—deserve a place to heal, grow stronger, and thrive together.
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