Cameron Bennett is the director and brainchild of Forging Ahead Inc., a non-profit charity on a mission to help those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) find creative ways to work through their stress.
This summer, Bennett intends to take his mission beyond the blacksmith shop, located at his home in St. Adolphe, to the great outdoors at the Niverville Community Resource and Recreation Centre (CRRC) where he’ll offer workshops to anyone’s who’s interested in learning the fine art of working with metal.
“I like to teach people the basics,” Bennett says. “If they have the bug and the itch for [metalworking, which] helped me so much, then I will gladly support them as they continue on.”
Bennett served in the Canadian military for two decades, during which time he was actively engaged in a peacekeeping tour in the former Yugoslavia and then deployed on three combat missions in Afghanistan.
He closed out his military career as an aviation technician before his medical release in 2018 due to injuries, both physical and mental.
It took Bennett some time and effort to work through the inner conflict that raged in him long after his release. Luckily, he found the one thing that calmed his spirit, kept his focus, and left him with a deep sense of accomplishment: blacksmithing.
In 2020, Bennett set out to share his love of metalworking with other PTSD sufferers. He outfitted his backyard shop for blacksmithing and registered his charity.
Just three years later, Bennett is hoping to expand his vision and open a spacious new shop in Niverville.
“I’m trying to create a vision of what I saw in Haliburton, Ontario,” Bennett says. “It’s a small cottage community that was extremely [attractive] because of the money that came in from the cultural arts [community]. Everything from blacksmithing, woodworking, painting, glassmaking, pottery, and all that stuff.”
There, he says, the community’s landscape is rife with works of local art, creating a vibrant tourist attraction.
“Their economy is also doing great in the wintertime due to the fact that they have lots of people coming in to take classes,” adds Bennett. “That’s honestly my goal. The only difference is that I don’t want it to be a for-profit organization. I want all the proceeds to go to mental health and wellness.”
If Bennett’s dream comes to full fruition, he’ll see the addition of other artisans and craftspeople to his creative arts endeavour, offering a well-rounded array of classes to help people manage their mental health through art therapy.
“I’m trying to make this a community charity,” Bennett says. “I’m literally trying to create Canada’s first mental health centre based upon alternative arts and crafts.”
It’s a lofty goal, but Bennett believes in its potential to heal and he believes in the philanthropic community that can help make it happen.
The outdoor popup shops he hopes to offer this summer will act as the springboard to the greater plan. If he can raise approximately $12,000 in funds in the coming weeks, Bennett will have the investment needed to purchase the equipment and offer the openair workshops.
Custom-made coal-burning forges are part of that plan.
“It’s a cleaner burning coal so it has less of a carbon footprint,” Bennett says. “Coal forges are actually easier to store outside and they’re not as dangerous because they don’t have any gasses or flammable liquids that are kept under pressure. And you can get them a lot hotter and do a lot more things with them.”
Proceeds from the outdoor workshops will go towards the purchase or lease of space in Niverville to get his art centre off the ground.
The Canadian Manitoba Veterans Support Group, he says, has already donated $2,000 towards his cause. Through an information booth set up at this year’s Niverville Olde Tyme Country Fair, he received another $350 from generous individuals.
He hopes other individuals and corporate groups will come alongside to partner with him.
In the meantime, Bennett will continue to fulfill custom orders from his home-based workshop. As always, the proceeds from his creations funnel right back into the charity to help people suffering from PTSD.
Currently he’s working on a redwood cedar table with decorative metal trim and a three-foot octopus lawn ornament.
He’s trained veterans from the area and as far away as Kenora in the blacksmithing craft. Recently, the Royal Canadian Legion informed him that his charity will be one of the recipients of Remembrance Day poppy sale proceeds.
