Fellow veterans, former officers offer helping hand to navigate PTSD, suicide, job frustrations

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Local nonprofit Operation 22 wants to offer a hand and shoulder of support to military veterans, police officers and emergency crews who may be actively struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Group founders Mark and Misty Lacy said their experience with the trauma set in after the Route 91 mass shooting in Las Vegas.

Mark Lacy had served in the military, but he said it was only a matter of weeks after that violent moment in 2017 that his symptoms set in.

“PTSD just took control of my life for about 15 months," he said. "It was one of the darkest places I've ever been. I prepared twice to commit suicide and take my life, and both times I was stopped by my wife and my mother.”

Lacy said he knew he had to make a change in his life, and he understood that if he was wresting with emotions, other people were as well.

The “22” in their organization's name stems from data showing the average of 22 U.S military veterans and first responders dying by suicide each day.

"If we can save just one life, it's worth every minute that we put forward and every penny that we raise," Lacy said, "because we can't bring back a life. I don't want to be part of that statistic. I don't want to be part of the 22."

Military service members and police officers may feel they can really only trust a peer who's lived through that frustration on the job to truly understand what they're feeling in a down moment.

Trained volunteers who work for national groups like Copline have been filling those gaps for years.

Fast-forward from its founding in 2005 to the present day — group founder and clinical therapist Stephanie Samuels said on average, trained call takers will field 348 calls a month for an average of 18 minutes a conversation.

Samuels said her original vision for the program was not intended to be a suicide prevention line. She admits, though, the hotline has evolved to become a reliable resource for someone who just wants to talk to an active listener.

"95 percent of our calls are bad day calls," she said. "They're just officers either on their way into the job or off the job to kind of debrief, decompress with somebody that gets it; kind of review it. A call that they had with somebody that's safe, that's not going to judge them and not going to give them advice."

Samuels adds that Copline won't trace a caller's phone, keeping in line with the group's core tenet of confidentiality. Right now, she said, the group wants research the role concussions play in an officer's health during their career.

Over the years, Samuels said she tells me she wanted to give former officers who've retired with decades worth of experience a chance to use their wisdom and complement it with specialized training.

However, Samuels, said, that process requires discipline and vetting because the stakes are too great to risk.

"The integrity of these lines and who's answering it -- absolutely (critical)," she said. "For that officer that's been brave enough to dial those 10 numbers, they need to know that the person they're getting has got the skill set and understands what what the mission is."

The number — 1-800-COPLINE — has both a clinician and two call-takers available on shift. Callers can reach out for support 24/7.

When it comes to face-to-face interactions and support groups, Both Mark and Misty Lacy said they want their meetings to act as a safe, open, judgment-free space.

Looking ahead to this fall, on Sept. 23, Operation 22 will host a Poker Run as well as a car and bike show. Any tickets sold and money raised would support their mission.

For more information, visit their website.