The New York state veteran's services department is bringing military spouses together for a day of self-care, emotional support, and fellowship.
The inaugural Healing Haven for Military Spouses retreat is a free daylong event that will offer wellness activities, stress reduction workshops, and access to resources and support services for military families.
"We want military spouses to know that they can and should take this time for themselves," said Benjamin Pomerance, deputy counsel for the state Department of Veterans' Services.
Pomerance and his team of wellness experts, including Stress Is Gone with Brett Cotter, are putting together this inaugural getaway as an extension of the Healing Haven for Military Spouses virtual program.
The program, which started in December 2025, Pomerance said offers a safe space where military spouses can "gather in community with each other in a professionally facilitated manner"
"When someone is serving in military uniform, that entire family is serving with them," Pomerance said. "There's just something powerful of being in community with people who have had experiences that are similar to yours, who can talk the same language, so to speak."
Military spouses play a vital yet often undervalued role in supporting those who serve, officials said. Loved ones must navigate deployments, frequent uprooting, adjusting to a one-parent household, and supporting partners who are transitioning back to civilian life.
"The challenges in some ways can be just as great after they come back home and everybody's dealing with the newness of that experience," said Laura Heltz, executive director of the Veterans Outreach Center in Rochester. "A lot of times the service member wants to sort of shield the spouse from some of those issues."
Heltz said this event also comes at a time when war and political unrest is shaping the world—and spouses are gearing up for deployments more frequently.
She said the comradery built within the retreat is needed.
"I hope the first thing that they leave with is the knowledge that there is a community that cares," Heltz said. "That they're not battling this stuff alone."
The Healing Haven for Military Spouses wellness retreat will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Nov. 14 at Clear Path for Veterans in Chittenango, New York. The deadline to RSVP is Wednesday.
"There's nothing about this that's meant to be high pressure or tense in any way," Pomerance said. "It's exactly the opposite. It's meant to be relaxing and therapeutic."
