Adaptive Performance Center is expanding its operations to Helena.
The new center, modeled after APC’s flagship location in Billings, will help veterans and active military personnel improve their mental health and overall wellness through physical fitness, its operators said.
APC Helena is scheduled to host a community open house until 4 p.m. Monday and from noon to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Opening day for the facility, at 2475 N. Cook St., is 8 a.m. Wednesday.
CEO and co-founder Karen Pearson called APC “the first organization of its kind in the nation, exclusively serving veterans and active military.”
“Our goal is to reduce the veteran suicide rate through fitness,” Pearson said in a news release. “Physical activity is proven to enhance one’s cognitive function and vitality and can reduce some of the effects of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), such as depression and anxiety.”
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A licensed clinical professional counselor, Pearson opened APC’s Billings facility in March 2020 with co-founder Mitch Crouse, enrolling 620 members despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The center offers classes in boxing, yoga, high-intensity training and kettlebell workouts, along with weight, cardio and personal training programs.
Pearson said APC offers veterans and service members a sense of community.
The nonprofit partners with veterans’ groups, including the Montana Veteran’s Affairs Division, Veterans Meat Locker, Impact Montana, the Disabled American Veterans, and Veterans Navigation Network, to provide information and programming to members, the news release states.
The Adaptive Performance Center also serves as a rehab facility for veterans with disabilities, Pearson said.
“Helping them return to active, fulfilling lives is one of the most important and gratifying things we do,” she said, adding that through improved physical health and well-being, people with disabilities can often maintain an independent lifestyle.
The new Helena facility includes a lounge, weight machine room, yoga room and motion cage, as well as separate cardio and free-weight rooms.
The operation is supported through grants from the Harnish Foundation, Gianforte Family Foundation, Bentley Foundation, Montana Community Foundation and community donations.
The Staff Sgt. Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grant helps fund trainers, mentors therapists at both locations. APC is also staffed by volunteers.
For more information, go to https://www.adaptiveperformancecenter.org/ or call the Billings facility at (406) 281-3848.
Following recent reporting on the high incidence of cancer among Missileers who served at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Cascade County, Montana, U.S. Senator Jon Tester is demanding answers and urging senior leaders at the Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to take immediate action to ensure every potentially impacted veteran or servicemember is identified and receives an appropriate health assessment.
