The Prince William Board of County Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a tax exemption for the Willing Warriors nonprofit organization in Haymarket.
Founded in 2013, the organization will receive a property tax exemption for its 37 acres and three homes, which provide wounded servicemembers with housing and recovering programs.
Sarah Ford, executive director of Willing Warriors, said the program currently offers cost-free respite stays to 27 active-duty and veteran service members. The organization opened its PenFed Grand Lodge earlier this year.
“They are staying at the warrior retreat to basically have their lives changed, to feel that resiliency that they need to go back … to their families – not just their units, not just their military brothers and sisters in arms, but to their families and to their communities,” Ford said during Tuesday’s public hearing before the board. “We can’t put a price tag on that.”
According to Ford, Willing Warriors has served 2,400 service members thus far with its retreat stays and its day programs and other services. Ford said no servicemember who completed the program has been lost to suicide, but the retreat’s limited capacity has worked to the detriment of those requesting aide.
“There have been warriors lost because they’re on the waitlist to get into this program,” Ford said. “We can’t have that happen – as a community, we can’t allow that to happen.”
Ford added the organization’s goal for 2025 is “more week-long stays” for servicemembers who require post-traumatic stress counseling. The additional revenue from the board’s tax exemption will be devoted to that purpose, she said.
Gainesville District Supervisor Bob Weir – who oversees the portion of Haymarket where Willing Warriors is located – expressed relief following Ford’s public hearing and the board’s unanimous vote.
“I just want to say this has been a long, hard road – longer and harder than I thought – and I really appreciate this board’s support for this item,” Weir said. “I can finally get this off my plate and off of [Ford’s] plate, and I really appreciate it – thank you.”
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