About Us
Finding Inspiration in Every Turn
Our Why
Because too many of our veterans and first responders are fighting battles long after their service ends and they’re doing it alone.
They face burnout, trauma, job loss, and isolation at rates that should alarm all of us. In Charlotte County, they’re 10X more likely to face a mental health crisis with suicidal thoughts than the general population.
Not on our watch.
TRA (Trauma Recovery Alliance) was built by and for those who’ve walked that road. We’re not here to patch holes in a broken system we’re here to rebuild it from the ground up. Peer-first. Purpose-driven. Community-rooted.
We offer more than “support.”
We offer paths to real healing, belonging, and opportunity.
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Workshops and Events that create connection without pressure
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Job and Business Pathways that restore dignity and income
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Peer-Led Support with no red tape, no judgment
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Local Partnerships that build lasting impact together
This is where service meets next chapter. And no one writes it alone.
Why We Started
TRA was born from a simple but urgent truth: recovery is possible and no one should have to walk that path alone. Our founders came together with a shared vision: to bridge the gap between trauma-informed knowledge and real-world, accessible healing practices. We saw too many people fall through the cracks: misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or simply unheard. We knew there had to be a better way.
Our Story
At Trauma Recovery Alliance, we understand burnout, cumulative stress, and the long shadow that trauma can cast, because our family has lived it, just like so many others in the veteran and first responder community.
Shawn spent over 30 years as a Firefighter, carrying the constant weight of crisis and responsibility. His wife, Jami, saw the quiet toll it took: the exhaustion, the emotional shutdown, the unspoken strain that so many responders normalize. And as a mother, she saw those same patterns in her son, Mark, a 15 year Service Disabled Retired Army Veteran who returned home with experiences the world didn’t quite know how to hold or understand.
Their stories aren’t unique and that’s exactly the point.
Across our community, veterans and first responders face burnout, moral injury, chronic stress, and the lingering effects of traumatic exposure. Many navigate it in silence, unsure where to turn or how to ask for help without fear of judgment or career repercussions.
TRA was built to change that.
We created a space where the realities of service are understood without explanation. A place that recognizes PTSD and burnout not as personal failings, but as human responses to sustained pressure and trauma. A community that says: You’re not alone. You’re not broken. You’re rebuilding and we’ll walk that path with you.
Every program at TRA is peer-led and community-rooted because trust comes from lived experience, not titles. Our mission is to restore dignity, connection, and purpose through practical pathways that support emotional safety, healing, and belonging.
For the more than 19,000 veterans in Charlotte County.
For the firefighters, police, and EMTs who carry invisible weight home.
For the families who shoulder the stress alongside them.
This isn’t charity. This is a community taking care of its own with understanding, empathy, and action.
