LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18 — According to the National Center for PTSD, seven out of 100 Veterans will struggle with PTSD. Camp Hero Kentucky hopes to open up the conversation to include the trauma first responders deal with every day as well.
Saturday, the fourth annual Bourbon & BBQ Bash made sure this vital resource for veterans and first responders will stay funded.
After being medically retired from both the Navy and law enforcement, Rocco Besednjak dealt with depression and PTSD. Besednjak suffered a spinal injury while serving as a police officer, and he wanted to find a group of first responders also dealing with mental health issues.
“There was absolutely no help or resources for first responders at the time, Besednjak said. “I knew that there needed to be something for first responders.”
“We always thought about PTSD being specifically with military background,” said Mike Poynter, director of nature immersion at Camp Hero. “We found out through science that we’ve been dealing with this in the emergency services for years and didn’t really know it.”
Besednjak added, “Running Camp Hero allows me to continue to serve. It gives me a purpose again.”
While Camp Hero gives back to so many people during the year, Saturday's Bourbon & BBQ Bash focuses on involving a new crowd of people.
“A lot of these people have never even heard about Camp Hero,” said Besednjak. “A company will buy a whole table, so they’ll get to come here with their company and they’ll get to learn about Camp Hero.”
Events like this one are important for Camp Hero because 96% of their funding is individual-based funding.
“This is where we get most of our actual operating cost and money,” Besednjak said.
“It’s all about networking,” added Poynter. “You get people together and they support our cause here.”
“This is going to set us up for the whole next year and as far as launch us off to be able to help fund all of our programs,” said Besednjak.
The night of having fun and raising money reminds Rocco how far Camp Hero has come in the last five years.
“To be able to stand here and stand in front of several hundred people and realize all of these people are here because of my story and what I believed in, it leaves me speechless,” he said.
To learn more about Camp Hero, click here.
