COEUR d'ALENE - As someone who served as a U.S. Army Ranger for four years, Shawn Burke understands the need for military personnel to remain active even after discharge.

"When you go back to society, you still have to have those components to be able to survive in society," Burke said. "The confidence to hold down a job, you're going to be physically fit, things of that nature."

Burke is the owner and operator of Wellness Incentive to Health (WITH) Performance in Riverstone. He has been working with St. Vincent de Paul of North Idaho's executive director, Jeff Conroy, to create fitness regimens for those who are enrolled in St. Vincent's veteran programs.

St. Vincent recently received a $20,000 grant to begin the wellness program, which will use state-of-the-art exercise equipment to help struggling veterans feel better - mind, body and soul.

"You have to be able to stimulate the mind, you have to be able to stimulate the body in order to function," Burke said. "This is my way of saying, 'We can do that.' You feel better about yourself, you feel like you can, you feel like you're giving back."

The WITH Performance Veterans Program already has six veterans enrolled. Each person will have a customized workout tailored to his or her individual needs, taking into consideration any ailments, past injuries and anything else that may affect the intensity of the exercise.

Vietnam Air Force veteran Sylvia Bach of Coeur d'Alene had open heart surgery 11 months ago and is in need of more physical therapy than she received from veterans affairs after the operation. She's looking forward to going to WITH three times a week for her personal sessions, which last 45 minutes to an hour.

"Even though I went through the 12 weeks of cardio rehab, I really noticed the difference now that that ended and I wasn't continuing with the process," Bach said. "I really need the strength and endurance because I garden and I do alternative healing work and I don't yet seem to have my strength and endurance back, and that's where I want to be."

Burke said the facility will be reserved for the veterans while they exercise, allowing them their own space. The plan is to have three veterans attend each session so they may build friendships and have a workout experience similar to when they were in the service.

"When I was in the military, we went to basic training together, we went to infantry training together, we went to war together and we all fought for the same cause," he said. "We go over there and we defend our country and when we get done, we come back out. I mean the government spends millions of dollars to train us, get us ready to go and once we're done with that, they take that away from us.

"That's one of the reasons why we want our vets working side by side, to use that camaraderie that we learn when we're in the military anyway," he said.

St. Vincent de Paul executive director Jeff Conroy said it is important to have veterans working in a group or team because it serves as a confidence booster and helps them more smoothly re-enter society. He agreed that the physical aspect contributes to overall health.

"St. Vinnie's does a really great job working on housing and case work and social service aspect of it," Conroy said. "It's the holistic thing that we need to work on."

The funds for the program were granted to St. Vincent de Paul by the Lynne Ruffin-Smith Charitable Foundation. Kristina Kropf, Pacific Northwest representative for Lynne Ruffin-Smith, said the founder was also a veteran who worked for the U.S. government and the foundation was happy to help those who have served our country.

"That's where it really struck our hearts," she said. "We want to give back."

Chris Green, veterans case manager for St. Vincent, said his veterans are excited to get their blood moving.

"Certainly there are veterans that are cycling back into and learning to reintegrate into society that will be immediately missing that physical fitness piece. We also have veterans who are Vietnam-era veterans, and some have been homeless for a long time," he said. "Physical fitness is the key, it's the magic pill that's going to help with depression, it's going to help with PTSD, it's going to help with all forms - physical, mental, total - health. That's the piece that we're really missing."

Conroy said while the grant is a huge help, the program will require more funds to continue to serve the 60 veterans who are on the waiting list. The program is facilitated through a nonprofit, which Burke said will help with serving this need.

"When you have 60 people on a waiting list waiting to get in, there's a problem," Burke said. "If we can get other people, other businesses to realize, 'Hey, this is a way to give back to our vets,' but also, it's a tax writeoff, so it's a win-win situation."