REBOOT Recovery

2020 and 2021 have sucked. We live in Nashville, TN and the past 18 months may have been the most challenging our city has ever seen. 

In March, a tornado hit the eastside and caused irreparable damage. Then Covid-19, then a bomb exploded downtown on Christmas day and now a flood has brought on a new wave of hardship. Our passion is helping people overcome trauma and our community has endured more trauma in the past 18 months than we could have imagined. 

If selected, we will use this funding to expand our network of small group gatherings across our city to help us process and overcome what we’ve collectively experienced. These gatherings meet one time per week for 12 weeks. They are peer-led and built using a proven trauma healing curriculum. Snacks and childcare will be provided to remove barriers to families who wish to attend. In addition to identifying and training new volunteer leaders, funds will also provide scholarships for those who wish to attend including curriculum books, food, childcare and access to a city-wide network of resources to help them get back on their feet. 

Eight years ago Jenny and I began meeting with a small group of combat veterans and their families in our living room right in our home. We would sit and listen as they described the immense challenges they faced returning from war. We began to feel a calling to do more than run in 5k or give a standing ovation on veterans day. This call challenged us to do more than we felt comfortable doing. And so began REBOOT Recovery. 

What started as a few people in our home grew to the point that in 2015, we both quit our jobs to dive head first into REBOOT. It was scary but we believed the risk was worth it. So, we formalized our curriculum and began training peer-leaders around the country to start groups in their towns. It worked, and today, over 10,000 people have completed one of our trauma healing courses held in nearly 300 cities. But as we watched our own city suffer, we knew it was time to broaden our offering to everyone - not just veterans or first responders. So, last year, we released a new curriculum that is open to anyone.

Contrary to popular belief, time doesn't heal all wounds. In fact, if left unaddressed, trauma spreads into other areas of our life causing relationship dysfunction, isolation and depression. Too many people never heal from trauma and it ends up controlling their lives. Those who experience trauma are 15 times more likely to attempt suicide and 4 times more likely to become an alcoholic or addict. Suicide is now the 2nd leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34. 

Tragically, many seek help, but are unable to afford care or get an appointment in a reasonable amount of time. Estimates show that there simply aren’t enough certified counselors available to address the need. 

That’s why REBOOT equips peers to come alongside professional mental health workers and respond to needs in their community. REBOOT offers 12 week trauma healing courses that are peer-led and outcomes driven. We have trained over 1200 volunteers around the country to facilitate our courses. 

An outcomes study by the University of Illinois concluded that graduates of our courses experience reduced anxiety, depression, fatigue, social isolation and anger. Furthermore, they have dramatically improved sense of self-worth, connectedness, resilience and quality of life.  

REBOOT offers a scalable, high-impact solution to a nationwide mental health and trauma epidemic. To our knowledge, there isn’t another movement of trained peer-leaders offering courses in local neighborhoods. This solution is catching trauma before it has the opportunity to spread. Trauma is contagious and spreads from generation to generation if left untreated. We are disrupting this pattern and offering participants the opportunity to chart a healthier course for themselves and their families. 

Since our courses are “indigenous” and reflect the community they serve, members of the course provide the network of support and accountability needed to truly heal. The course we offer would be most appropriately described as an onramp to authentic community. It is the text messages, accidental run-ins and coffee shop meetings that unlock long term wellness. 

The approach to mental health has been predominantly clinical in nature for the last 30 years. It has led to an astonishing number of diagnosis driven treatments; however, outcomes haven’t really improved as experts had predicted. We believe that’s because clinical care is incomplete without community to come alongside and offer “real world” support.

Just as trauma is contagious, so is resilience. 

What is more inspiring than seeing someone bounce back after a devastating experience. Our courses create an environment where we learn from those who have overcome adversity. Furthermore, the leaders of our courses live, work and play in the communities they serve. No university could give the kind of credentialing earned by those who have personally experienced and overcame trauma. Our approach helps them recycle or convert their painful experiences into something that is useful not only to themselves, but to the others in their community. 

Our curriculum has been published in medical journals and cited as a “ground breaking” approach to mental health healing. However, we believe our approach is more about restoring what has been lost rather than breaking new ground. Unaddressed trauma leads to isolation and distrust. But our courses restore the essential human need of meaningful relationships. We often say that our program is a community first and a course second. The combination of curriculum and community is truly a recipe for lasting change.