‘Project Sanctuary’ Finds a Home in Archuleta County

For 17 years, Project Sanctuary has been serving an unmet need in the military community: caring for military families and healing the family together.  As an organization, Project Sanctuary believes that when one person serves, the whole family serves, and the organization is grateful for those who’ve worn our nation’s cloth.

By providing education and support around relationship reconnection, communication, conflict resolution, financial habits and goals, and mental health and well-being in an immersive therapeutic retreat environment, Project Sanctuary has built a national reputation for delivering the support military families need and deserve.

They hold therapeutic healing retreats across the U.S., in locations such as Colorado, Texas, Maryland, Georgia, and Washington state, with the goal of partnering with retreat sites that offer beauty, calm, outdoor activity options, and a place where unique and valuable therapy can work best.

But they’ve always dreamed of a home of their own.

“Having our own retreat center and ensuring military families will have a place to call their own, a place of hope and healing, has always been a dream of Project Sanctuary. Over the years, it became clear we needed to identify a place we could call home for our therapeutic retreats,” noted Project Sanctuary Founder and CEO Heather Ehle Ray.

Enter Pagosa Springs.

“When the former Snow Wolf Lodge became available in 2023, our hearts melted. The location was perfect — a beautiful retreat campus nestled in the gorgeous mountains of Colorado.

“We will still utilize retreat center partners around the country, but this new location will allow us to expand our program to serve even more military families throughout next year and for many, many years to come.”

“We learned about the local community, set about introducing ourselves and making new friends, and quickly discovered so many kindred spirits — others who care about our military families and wanted to learn more about our work and mission.  We met Ben Dozier with a nationally acclaimed architectural firm who loved our vision so much, they are partnering with us to modify our retreat center to support our unique programming. We met Raymond Taylor, our county’s veteran’s service officer and joined Veterans for Veterans. No Limits and Habitat for Humanity have received us with open arms…

“As new neighbors to Pagosa Springs, we look forward to welcoming others into the Project Sanctuary family, sharing our plans for the Project Sanctuary Retreat Center and working together to add this beautiful and healing experience to the tapestry of our new community.”