About Us

Our Mission: Connecting Idaho's Everyday Heroes and their families with resources for mental health and wellness.

Courageous Survival is an Idaho Nonprofit 501c3 Organization established to connect Idaho’s Everyday Heroes with mental health resources and tangible tools for building resilience. Our hope is that ALL First Responders, Military Service Members, Veterans and their families can learn to recognize the signs of trauma exposure and Post-Traumatic Stress Injuries in themselves and others; and then have the courage to reach out for help. Our goal is to always offer Enhanced Peer Support, Consultations and Resource Guides all at NO COST for our Everyday Heroes and their families. In addition, we offer presentations, Peer Support Outreach, and training classes.

Jacki Briggs, Founder and Director

The story and passion behind Courageous Survival:

Currently, Idaho is in a battle ranking our state 50th in the US for Mental Health & Wellness resources.

These are not just statistics to me, unfortunately, it’s personal. Our family has always had a heart and passion to help others, it’s the way we have raised our children, and it’s in our DNA. What we didn’t know was that our world would be irrevocably rocked due to mental health challenges within our own family. Additionally, we have many close friends and colleagues that have either lost loved ones to suicide, or themselves chose to end their life by suicide. These experiences have broken us in ways we could never have anticipated, but it has also given us an opportunity to walk alongside others on this journey, offering hope and healing.

I am the wife of a USMC veteran and first responder. Although those experiences have brought their own challenges, that’s not where our biggest struggles have come from. I am also the mother to four beautiful young women, two of which are suicide attempt survivors. All four of our daughters have struggled with some form of extreme depression, suicide ideation, self-harm, anxiety, and PTSD. We didn’t start out that way, but through incredible loss and illness, as well as through adoption, our family has come face to face with the reality of what can happen when you bring broken people into a family and choose to love them. During some of the darkest hours, I, myself experienced what it’s like to struggle with severe depression, anxiety, PTSI/PTSD, and even suicide ideation, feeling completely helpless and hopeless.

We didn’t know that we would personally experience the deep, gut wrenching turmoil, the heartaches, and the struggles that partner with you along the journey of mental health challenges. What I do know is that we have an amazing God, a Father who loves us more than we could ever imagine. He came to our rescue, giving us light in the darkness, restoring our hope. Through Him, we have found strength to overcome, to continue fighting. We have learned to be courageous and to become survivors! I am here to tell our story and to do whatever I can to help others to continue the fight and get them the resources they need to be overcomers as well! Every person has a story and deserves to be heard. They deserve to receive the help they are crying out for, even if that cry is silent or comes in the form of an advocate crying out on their behalf. I am here to tell you there is ALWAYS hope. Not just to survive, but hope to learn to take your life back and to thrive!

Experience/Training:

• (E-TIP) Emotional First Aid & Peer Support Training for the Emergency Services Industry

• (CISM) International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) - Critical Incident Stress Management: Group Crisis Intervention & Assisting Individuals in Crisis

• (ASIST) Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training

• Save A Warrior-1-week War Detox Program & Integrated Intensive Retreat for First responders & Veterans with PTSI/PTSD (Columbus, Ohio); Alumni of the Save A Warrior Program

• First Responder Emotional Survival Class - Nampa Police Dept.

• Boise VA Medical Center - Mental Health Summit 2019

• 1st Responder Mental Health & Wellness Conferences, 2-day Trainings across US. (Volunteered as Asst. Director, organized & participated in trainings - 11 events over nearly 2 yrs)

• Gallup Strength Finder: Numerous Coaching Seminars & Training Workshops

The Leadership Team at Courageous Survival

Tom Briggs

Tom is the Director of Business Operations and the CISM Team lead. He also serves as the current Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Tom served in the United States Marine Corps Reserve for 8 years, which included a tour of duty in Southwest Asia in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. After completing a degree in Criminal Justice, Tom took a job with the Ada County Sheriff's Office in Boise. Tom served the community in a variety of roles including off-road enforcement, marine patrol, dive recovery team, traffic enforcement, north county patrol, Kuna City patrol, the crisis intervention team, and the property crimes detectives. Tom was a supervisor for 16 years and retired from Ada County in May of 2022, after 29 years of service.

In his personal life, Tom enjoys most all things outdoors; including hunting, fishing, and dirt bike riding.

Debbie Meredith

Debra is Courageous Survival's Chief Financial Officer and is a member of the Board of Directors. Debra also serves on the Spousal Peer Support Team.

Debra has a background in healthcare with a focus in Holistic Nutrition. She completed her Certified Nursing Assistant Certificate and attended Arizona State University's RN Program. Debra and her husband Steve have been married for 25 years. They own an Electrical contracting business in which Debra is the CFO and Office Manager. She has a total of 8 grown children and enjoys trying to keep up with her 14 Grandchildren! In her free time, Debra loves camping, hiking, playing cards and traveling. Debra comes from a long line of dedicated veterans, including her Great-Grandfather, Grandfather, Father, late husband, and sister, who served in WWI, WWII, Korean Conflict, and Desert Storm.