An Iraq war veteran is on a different type of tour these days – traveling the country to find healing…through hugs.
Ian Cooke suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder since returning from his deployment in Iraq, and says he’s discovered a unique method of recovery.
Four months ago he left his Portland, Oregon home to start the Human Hug Project – a mission to spread love to others through a simple embrace.
So far, Cooke and his friends have traveled more than 25,000 miles across the country, visiting different Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, and hugging whoever is willing to hold onto a stranger.
“A hug is something I was so disconnected from, for so many years, that it’s kind of my new medicine”, Cooke told WRTV. “And it starts to take the pain of those memories and instead replace that with a sense of brotherhood and appreciation and it gives you hope.”
(WATCH video below or READ more from WRTV)