For veterans and first responders, the challenges of service can stay with them long after the job is done. One Arizona nonprofit is helping them process those experiences through an unexpected combination of professional counseling, scuba diving, and connection with others who understand.
Deep Sea Valkyries was founded by combat veteran Josh Grzywa after he lost eight fellow service members to suicide over a six-week period. That tragedy inspired him and others to ask what they could do to help veterans struggling after returning home.
The nonprofit now brings veterans to the Bahamas for week-long retreats that combine professional trauma counseling with scuba diving and time to build relationships with fellow service members.
For Nick Rasheta, a veteran of the Army National Guard who also spent two decades with the Mesa Police Department, the experience offered an opportunity to look back on his career from a different perspective.
Rasheta says the diving brings a sense of peace, but the conversations and relationships built along the way are just as important. Those connections can continue long after the retreat ends, offering participants a network of people who understand what they have experienced.
Thanks to generous donors, hundreds of veterans have benefited from the free program. Now, Deep Sea Valkyries is expanding its mission to include first responders, helping more people who dedicate their lives to protecting others find support for themselves.
This Saturday, October 24th, the nonprofit is hosting its annual fundraiser where they will be raffling off prizes and more to raise money for this critical program.
As the nonprofit puts it, donations do more than help fund a trip. They’re an investment in a person.
Watch the full story in the video player above.
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