Forge Through: supporting veterans and first responders

Supporting our veterans and first responders has never been more important, with rates of PTSD and other service-related health issues increasing at an alarming rate.

Edcon Steel proudly supports Forge Through – a charitable mental health initiative – which was established by and for first responders and veterans who are grappling with the emotional, physical and mental stress associated with their jobs.

Encouraging individuals in a supportive, creative and challenging environment, Forge Through offers knife-making, fishing and other community-oriented programs.

Providing participants with opportunities for self-discovery and growth, the programs build a sense of pride among community members: pride in what they have created, built and experienced with others.

Dean’s story

Dean Hamilton is the Founder of the Forge Through program and a talented bladesmith.

A former soldier and law enforcement officer, Dean was medically retired as a result of the mental toll of his career. After undergoing a number of other treatments, he found the courage to challenge himself by attending a knife-making class at a forge.

In Dean’s words, “Those two days of fire and steel changed my life, and I realised that I had escaped my darker thoughts for the first time in a long while.”

Since then, Dean has made countless knives and crafted a career from his bladesmithing, a pursuit that continues to benefit his physical, mental and emotional health.

Wanting to share this experience of relief with others in the same situation, Dean established Forge Through.

His intention for the program is to provide a creative getaway for veterans and first responders struggling with the demands of their jobs while offering support from a community of people who understand their experience.

A life-changing experience

We spoke to Doug, a veteran who spent twenty years in the military, about how important Forge Through has been in his journey.

After taking up woodworking as a hobby to keep himself active in mind and body, Doug became interested in metalwork as a support to his woodworking.

“I was getting interested in making my own tools, namely hand tools,” Doug explains. “I found myself needing hand tools that you just can’t buy anymore. But to do this, I needed to learn how to harden and temper steel.”

A fortuitous Google search by Doug’s partner, Julie, led to Forge Through and an advertisement for its first-ever knife-making program, held in Batemans Bay. Seeing as the program would involve learning how to temper and harden steel, Julie submitted an application on Doug’s behalf.

A self-described sceptic, Doug was unsure what to expect: “Me being the sceptical person that I am, and suffering from PTSD, I thought, ‘This has got to be too good to be true. This bloke’s going to teach me how to make a knife, and it’s not going to cost us anything?’

It made me rather tentative and want to turn around. But I went up there on a leap of faith and the whole weekend went so well. It just turned out to be wonderful, and we found out that it was so much more than the knife-making experience. You become part of this community where you’ve got someone to talk to if you need someone.”

The value of community

Building a community that extends beyond the knife-making programs is central to the organisation. As Doug explains, “They’ve got an annual fishing competition that brings everyone together.

And I managed to find a bloke who I served with, who I hadn’t seen in 25 years. We paired up and have gone out together every year since.

There’s also a mentoring program that brings previous program attendees together with new people. It doesn’t just help support and guide new members; it keeps old members engaged in the system and part of the community.”

When asked to describe how Forge Through has helped him specifically, Doug noted how the community is so important: