OCALA, FL (352today.com) – A sea of gray and teal t-shirts filled the Ocala/Marion County Veterans Memorial Park on June 27 as the annual PTSD Walk took place—moved to the evening for the first time, though delayed an hour due to rain.
“This is an opportunity for the community to assemble, come one, come all to help stamp out PTSD throughout Marion County,” said Todd Belknap with Veterans Helping Veterans USA. “You have all sorts of people from all walks of life coming here even in the rain because they believe in supporting those who suffer from PTSD. This is the silent killer, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. What this initiative does today has surpassed all previous initiatives—by having it in the evening, we ratcheted up our marketing and awareness. We sold over $10,800 in t-shirts at $25 a pop. That’s a lot of t-shirts. On top of that, we were able to garner $17,000 in sponsorship. All the proceeds, every last dime of the $30,000, stays here in Marion County to stamp out PTSD.”
PTSD remains a major challenge for those suffering and their families. Local organizations are taking a more proactive approach to ensure no one faces it alone.
“What Veterans Helping Veterans is doing, we’re not waiting,” Belknap said. “We’re going to take some of the money that we had donated to us as a result of this fundraiser and we’re launching a PTSD initiative called Project Reboot. It’s going to take place in September and we’re going to invite anybody who suffers from the ravages of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—whether it be a veteran, first responder or civilian. You’re hurting with PTSD. We’re offering to take the hurt away at Vets Helping Vets at no cost. We’re going to have seminars, classes, peer support—you name it. We’re going to have both morning and evening sessions. We’re looking forward to helping people who know it’s okay to not be okay.”
The event opened with Landon Adams performing the national anthem. She’s made it a personal mission to support first responders and those dealing with trauma.
“I started as a young kid performing the national anthem all over the county,” Adams said. “Then my dad, when I was probably in middle school, became a prison guard, and it brought the trauma aspect and the severity of the job closer to home. Now he’s a firefighter for Sumter County. It’s always been a special place for me. I just wanted to help promote awareness. It’s personal to me—that’s the reason that I do it.”
The Marion County Board of County Commissioners proclaimed June 27 as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness/Teal Out Day.
“PTSD—most people kind of connect it to military, people who’ve been involved in combat,” said Commissioner Craig Curry. “It’s kind of a silent illness. It’s more of a mental illness that people hide in a lot of cases. It affects our first responders in a big way—and our community at large. Troubled marriages can even end up with a PTSD syndrome. It’s something that we’re trying to make people aware of across the community.”