OUR VETERANS, first responders and military children
When you have a collective mission, you are at the pinnacle of performance within your skill set, unit cohesion, and sense of purpose. And then it all changes. Accomplishments don't translate into everyday life, enjoyable employment can be hard to come by, mental health services can be slow and stigmatizing, and the family structure can feel fragmented.
Likewise, children of military and public safety families are some of the most underrepresented members of our society. For a military or public safety child, service can mean prolonged separation from a parent, fear for that parent's safety, and increased uncertainty in daily routine.
There is a little outside, inside us all.
The Green Beret L.I.F.E. creates an outdoor community of challenge, leadership and camaraderie through day events and multi-day expeditions. Expeditions are designed seasonally for both adults and teens.
Kairos: Adult Expeditions
Kairos means, a time when conditions are right for the accomplishment of a crucial action. Kairos expeditions replicate the best parts of combat, leveraging veteran/first responder leadership skills to work together, assess risk and overcome challenges.
Arrow: Teen expeditions (Dependents of military and first responder families)
Adventure starts at the end of your comfort zone. So does growth. Arrow uses expedition/adventure therapy as an impetus for transforming young lives. Our expeditions offer the freedom of self discovery through a holistic integration of therapeutic supports, wilderness experiences and strong leadership development.
Access to the outdoors is proven to have a
positive impact on mental health and physical well-being.
Front line defenders: The cost of freedom
Once a frontline defender leaves the battle grounds they take on the fight of their life to try and get the supports they need to live healthy and whole lives. There is an estimated 20 veteran suicides a day, and an estimated officer suicide every 17 hours. Some headlines are calling it the "new normal".
Military suicides surged this year to a record high among active duty troops, continuing a deadly trend that Pentagon officials report they are struggling to counter. The number of suicides across the military increased from 511 in 2017 to 541 in 2018. According to the Pentagon, the most at-risk population is young enlisted men. Army suicides went from 114 to 139, while the Marines went from 43 to 58 and the Navy went from 65 to 68. The Air Force dipped from 63 to 60.
According to a 2017 Pentagon report, there were 186 families that had suicides — 123 were spouses and 63 were dependents between the ages of 12 and 23. The vast majority - nearly 70 percent - were female spouses under the age of 40, while 70 percent of the dependent suicides were males. About half of the dependents who died by suicide were at least 18 years old and, for those younger than that, most of the deaths were youth between 15 and 17.
Research on first responder divorce, domestic violence and mental health report that 75% of officers and 87% of firefighters have been divorced; And that 40 % of first responders are involved in domestic violence. There is an estimated 1 in every 4 military children who have thought about suicide while a parent is deployed. 1 in 5 that have fallen behind in school and are struggling academically or behaviorally.
An estimated 460,000 Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans have post-traumatic stress disorder —diagnosed and undiagnosed. And an estimated 85% of first responders and 35% of dispatchers experience some elements of PTSD.
The emotional war on our front line defenders is very real.
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