About Us

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