Boulder Crest Foundation

    The A. James and Alice B. Clark Foundation’s support of Boulder Crest Foundation helped us transform the lives of 1,821 combat veterans, first responders, and their family members during the first quarter of 2023. This is the story of one of those individuals, Allan G., who attended Warrior PATHH in February 2023.

    Allan was at the end. He had lost hope.

    Allan served as a combat engineer in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division from 1984 to 1988 and joined the police force when he left the Army in 1988. From this point on, Allan lived his professional life on razor’s edge, seeking out the most difficult assignments that usually involved long, arduous hours and high risk. His professional stress was compounded when his second child was born with severe health conditions that left him with low functionality. Allan’s wife struggled with this unexpected situation and ultimately left Allan to raise his two children on his own. 

    Allan retired from the police force in 2010 to focus on raising his disabled son. The COVID-related lockdowns hit Allan especially hard and in 2021, he began to suffer the effects of what was diagnosed as “Caregiver burnout.” His doctor warned Allan of the grievous consequences of him not taking care of himself as well as his son, but Allan ignored the warnings and leaned into the mission of raising and protecting his son from real and perceived threats.

    By the time 2022 began, Allan was in dire straits. He drank heavily, had a costly THC habit, and grew increasingly depressed as caring for his son became almost impossible for him. Allan sequestered himself at home, continued his steady pace of self-medicating, and lost touch with his close friends. In June 2022 Allan made the difficult decision to place his son in a professional residential setting for children with disabilities, but instead of feeling relief that his son was receiving professional care, Allan felt like a “disgusting failure” who had quit on his son. He hated himself for this decision.

    Thankfully, one of Allan’s friends understood exactly where he was and recommended he attend Warrior PATHH. Allan later credited this friend for starting him on a path that saved his life. He said of his decision to attend PATHH: “I had no Plan B. This was my Alamo.” 

    Warrior PATHH was a hard reset for Allan, away from home, distractions, and electronic devices. He found Boulder Crest staff and volunteers one of the most noteworthy aspects of the program, as “I was awed by their professionalism. I was inspired by their courage and openness to share their own, sometimes very difficult, struggles with 9 strangers. I was motivated by their passion and true love of what they were providing to me and my 8 brothers of WP151. The gratitude I have for those brave men and women will never leave.”

    The PATHH Guides noticed a change in Allan by the end of his time at Boulder Crest. They reported Allan left a completely different person than the man who arrived. He had released years of guilt, fear, and shame, and realized that he deserved to live a better life.  Allan had also accepted that it is okay to take a knee and ask for help. While his journey from struggle to strength won’t be without difficulties, Allan now has the practices he needs to transform his life.