The public perception has pushed a narrative that our nation’s protectors are stoic warriors that can’t falter under stress or pressure. This is not true, not at all. Those that wear a uniform, or badge adorned to their person, face an unprecedented amount of stress. Stress bore from decades of wars coming to an end, lack of public support, and pressure to maintain a hard shell. All affect our nation’s protectors' health and mental well-being. Making this worse is the stigma attached to active military, veterans, and emergency responders to come forward to seek the help they need. A stigma that they are broken or damaged.
In fact, for years perception has been if you sought help it could ruin your career. Many agencies are pushing to get rid of that stigma attached to coming forward. “We are finally breaking through the stigma of seeking help for mental health. A lot of that has to do with leadership recognizing their own vulnerabilities, and are setting the example by seeking help themselves. They are breaking down the walls of seeking help,” says Chief Deputy Matthew Thomas of the Pinal County Sheriff’s Department in Arizona.
Erasing the stigma can help protectors come forward without fear of stigma or reprisal. It is crucial they can freely seek help before they are lost in addiction, or worse, suicide. Help is out there, even if it is not government-operated or sponsored. There are numerous non-profit organizations out there providing direct help to veterans and emergency responders.
I reached out to one I know directly, Warriors Heart. Their co-founder, Tom Spooner, spent decades in the U.S. Army, most within Special Operations Forces (SOF). Spooner helped create their cutting-edge program based on his own past struggles with alcohol and stress. Spooner is direct when talking about his past. At one time he said, “I was in a lot of pain. I had to use a GPS to get anywhere, to include my home. I was having huge emotional mood swings. I couldn’t think clearly. I couldn’t stay focused. I was experiencing lots of depression and fury. I didn’t care if I lived or died. I was home, but I was not home. I couldn’t be present. I was in need of help.”
Spooner says this about the foundation, “Warriors Heart Foundation, the meat and potatoes of it, is that it subsidizes treatment costs for our veterans, first responders, and protectors. Through the foundation, every dollar goes towards a human being.”
Rick Hogg, a fellow SOF veteran, and friend of Spooner, stressed the importance of veterans being involved in the healing process as well as license therapists. Hogg told me, “Veterans helping veterans is some of the best therapy. They may not have shared the same experiences, but they share the same bonds.” Hogg says the Warriors Heart program is the model of therapy for our nation’s protectors.
Sometimes a law enforcement agency’s insurance doesn’t cover the cost of recovery and emergency responders have to go into debt to get the help they need. Brad Waudby, a longtime detective with a mid-size department in New Jersey, told me, “Even though our agencies cover our health care, sometimes the out-of-pocket costs and the necessary leave is just not feasible. I have seen officers pay upwards of $8000 as a copay just to get the critical mental health help they need.”
The costs for therapy and getting the necessary mental health help can be high. It is simply not possible for non-profits to be entirely self-sustainable without help. The private sector is stepping up to help, from corporate donors, private donations, and even television.
The PowerNation’s Music City Trucks show recently restored a 1974 Bronco that will be auctioned online on December 3, 2021, to benefit the Warriors Heart Foundation. Spooner fully supports the auction, saying “You can get involved by helping other human beings, and that’s how the viewers can get involved through the auction.”
Jamey Caldwell, a former SOF member, and now a professional angler, who also served with Spooner in SOF, said, “When this Bronco is sitting on the auction block, whoever wins it and gets it, it will be an unbelievable vehicle to have, but the background behind it, and what really gets me is I’ve visited Warriors Heart and taken guys fishing there. And to see what happens down there, and to know that all the proceeds from this whole project will go to help numerous guys and get them back on their feet, some of them off the streets, it’s amazing. You can’t even believe what you guys are doing, and everybody is doing. You can’t put a price on it. It is literally going to saves lives.”
The protector community needs support. They need support to crush the stigma of seeking help. There are numerous organizations out there and many ways to help, even if not monetary.