“Day One—by this time, shock has set in fairly well. Information is getting thrown at the cohort quickly. There is no time to panic, only time to grab hold of what is being offered.
“Day Two—a light is slowly beginning to show itself. The information that seemed so over the top makes sense now. The trauma that you have been holding on to…you have a chance to let go of for good.
“Day Three—Here is where it all makes sense. The finale. The ending that is only the beginning. You have bonded with your cohort and the staff. They are family. You are not alone. Never alone again. The cohort is complete. Another photo is taken. The difference is amazing. The tension and pain are gone. You are free.”
Rosa Torres, cohort 015, female programming facilitator for SAW, said, “It’s a place where people learn to change their perspective and change/reclaim their lives.” Ms. Torres attended one of the earliest cohorts at SAW and has been involved with the program for the past seven years. Ms. Torres said, “SAW chose me! Attending the program not only changed my life. I could very assuredly say that it saved my life.”
Summer Moynihan, cohort 0110, chose to attend the SAW program when a new counselor recommended it to her after many failed attempts at counseling. She said, “SAW is not a vacation, retreat or a miracle cure. It is a chance to find peace. I no longer live in the past. I am in the here and now.”
Sarah Hansen, cohort 099, wasn’t looking for a program when SAW was recommended to her, but applied anyway. Ms. Hansen said, “Some of the boundaries they pushed I did not like. It may have been meant to open people up. But it made me recoil and that’s a lot of my trauma.” SAW did change some things for Ms. Hansen, though. “I have learned to sit back, to just be one with my emotions.”
And that, in a nutshell, is what SAW does. It gives our veterans and first responders the chance to have a conversation. It provides a safe space to grieve the pain and loss that trauma brings. SAW is committed to bringing change to the arena of veteran and first responder suicide rates by starting a conversation that is impossible to ignore.
