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
This isn’t just a cause to us—it’s our family’s reality.
Shawn served over 30 years as a firefighter, standing on the frontlines of crisis, chaos, and loss. He’s the kind of person who shows up before you even know you need help. But for all those years of showing up for others, the systems weren’t built to show up for him.
Jami, his wife, watched the toll it took—on his body, his spirit, his silence. And as a mom, she saw it again in her son, Mark—a 15-year retired Army veteran. Mark had worn the uniform, carried the weight, and returned to a world that didn’t know what to do with his experience—or his pain.
We lived it: the isolation, the burnout, the impossible choice between staying strong and asking for help.
So we stopped waiting for systems to catch up.
We built TRA (Trauma Recovery Alliance) to create what we wish we’d had.
A space that says: You’re not broken. You’re rebuilding. And you don’t have to do it alone.
At TRA, everything is peer-led—because we know trust doesn’t come from titles. It comes from lived experience. We created community-rooted pathways to healing, work, and belonging because dignity should never be optional.
For the 19,000+ veterans in Charlotte County.
For the firefighters, police, EMTs who carry the invisible weight home.
For the families who walk beside them.
This isn’t charity. This is family taking care of family.
