When you’re on the job, you know that you can’t stop and make sense of what’s happening, because the work’s not done yet. Active duty, retired, & first responders know this all too well. However, the spouses of a service members and first responders also know that they can’t stop to dwell on their fears and concerns about their loved one, because there’s a household to manage every day or even their own career. Maybe you were told: “there’s no time for that”, “stuff it do

Having worked with Veterans and Combat Veterans for the last 3 years now, one of the most common things I hear is, “It’s just not the fucking same out here, Beth.” It is their language of grief and isolation that they don’t hear or recognize, but that my brain picks up on then translates into an emotion. One of my favorite things to do with Veterans is to ask them their favorite memory from bootcamp/basic training. Interestingly, they all pretty much have the same reaction,

Trail to Recovery Announces the 222 for the 22 Ride. This Memorial Day weekend, Trail to Recovery is bringing veterans, supporters, and the 4x4 community together for a ride with a purpose. On Saturday, May 23, we’ll be hosting the 222 for the 22 Ride, a 222-mile convoy across Virginia to raise awareness for veteran suicide. The heart behind this ride is simple: 22 is too many. We’ll be riding from Richmond to Lynchburg, with planned stops along the way for fuel, regrouping,

Who Is an Adventurer? Meet the Heart of Trail to Recovery Who Is an Adventurer? We call the people we serve in Trail to Recovery- "Adventurers." It's not a rank, a certification, or something you test into. It's three things: Veteran. Active duty. First responder. That's the whole list. If you're on it, you're in. --- VETERANS Separated six months ago or thirty years ago, it doesn't matter. The trail doesn't check your DD-214. It doesn't care what you did, how long you serv

THE OFFICIAL UNOFFICIAL FIELD GUIDE TO NOT MAKING IT WEIRD: A Civilian-to-Veteran and Veteran-to-Civilian Interoperability Manual, Revision 2.0 INTRODUCTION Despite sharing a country, a tax base, the same Costco parking lot, and at least one mutual acquaintance named Mike who "did a few years," veterans and civilians continue to regard each other with the quiet bewilderment of two species who evolved on separate continents and were introduced at a dinner party that nobody p

Last Saturday, Trail to Recovery made its presence known at the Virginia Off-Road Spring Trailfest in Jamaica Virginia. We gathered with around 300 people, amidst trucks and outdoor enthusiasts. Our aim was simple: to introduce ourselves, shake hands, and engage in meaningful conversations. Something happened during our time there that truly encapsulates our mission. A young man approached my booth with a young woman and quite a curious and adorable German Shepard. We discus

Have you ever felt like you were just a number? A case number. A claim number. A spot on a waitlist that moves slower than a convoy lost in bad weather. You've navigated the VA; maybe you're still navigating it, and somewhere along the way it became clear to you that the system wasn't really built with you in mind. It was built to process you. That isn’t cynicism. That's your experience. And here's what that system will never tell you: the reason it feels wrong isn't because