From WTRF, Chanel 7, WHEELING, West Virginia.
Two groups of living beings. Both struggling, both in crisis and through a new project about to be launched here in the Ohio Valley in WV, they can each help the other. Those groups are honey bees and military veterans.
Veterans have a 20 percent unemployment rate and thanks to PTSD and other debilitating mental illnesses, veteran suicide rates are escalating, now at a rate of one every 65 minutes. That’s over 8,000 per year. Meanwhile, honey bees aren’t doing so well either because of mites, pesticides and loss of forage.
The Boots to Bees project would give veterans a job, selling, setting up and maintaining healthy beehives.
Homeowners who like the idea of having a beehive in the backyard, but don’t have the skills or desire to be hands-on with bees, can turn to the veterans in this program for help.
“So if we can bring the veterans in to help homeowners, then they can have the job of helping the homeowner tend the bees and everybody wins,” said Delia Wach.
The project is being kicked off in Utah and in the Ohio Valley in West Virginia simultaneously.
If you live in an area served by this program, are a veteran in need of a job or a homeowner who would like to have a beehive on your property, the number to call is (347) 210-0797.
Their goal is to have a beehive in every backyard.
