Highlighting An Amazing Veteran Who Found His Path to Healing Trauma Through Youth Mentorship with TMF

At Travis Manion Foundation (TMF) we strive to strengthen communities by training, developing, and highlighting the role models that lead them: veterans and families of the fallen.

As I learned after the death of my husband, Navy Lt. (SEAL) Brendan Looney, some wonderful things can come out of tragedy. As the Vice President of TMF, I have the great pleasure of getting to know some amazing veterans leading our programs. I was given permission to share a recent story from one of our veteran leaders and encourage the RallyPoint community to join this effort.

As we’ve all seen over the past few years, often the national conversation has turned to race relations. During this time, I got to know one of our members, Army Veteran Derrick Robinson, who shared the story of how this conversation brought his own past with a toxic police officer to the surface.

He had recently returned to civilian life after four years of military service and was losing the strong sense of purpose he once had. In its place: depression, anxiety, and grief. By July, Derrick was unable to get out of bed most mornings, paralyzed by the weight of his trauma.

Derrick applied to TMF’s Spartan Leadership Program (SLP) to work through his personal challenges. A core component of the course is a week-long Expedition to Colorado. Before he even arrived, he was presented with an additional challenge. The Expedition host for the week would be Marine Veteran Brian “Tosh” Chontosh, a man he felt embodied the toxic masculinity of the officer who traumatized him years ago--just the sort of person he went out of his way to avoid.

While traveling to Colorado, Derrick became overwhelmed by his circumstance and began to bawl in his plane seat. It was then that he took a monumental leap in his healing journey. Employing new lessons from the SLP program, he shifted his perspective. Now, this was a chance to process his trauma.

What awaited Derrick in Colorado surprised him. He was open and apologetic about the prejudice he brought to the Expedition and Tosh responded with matched vulnerability, acknowledging his part in that narrative and sharing his own journey.

Since graduating from the program, Derrick dove into working as a Veteran Mentor in TMF’s Character Does Matter (CDM) mentorship program. The CDM program provides veterans and families of the fallen training to serve as mentors to youth from elementary school to the collegiate level.

Now as an engaged Mentor, Derrick credits TMF, his fellow members, and the youth he serves with helping him find a path to continued healing. Derrick has been able to take down his walls and found, without them, he’s a happier and healthier person.

“What I absolutely love about being a Mentor,” Derrick says, “is that it helps me reach youth that I wouldn’t normally be able to connect with. It’s also helped heal my heart and my view of humanity. Working with youth, seeing their resilience, it gives me hope that we can make it a better world.”

The CDM program empowers Mentors like Derrick to carry on their legacy of service by inspiring future generations to live with character. Through presentations or activity-based courses, they instill the value of identifying character strengths and demonstrate how to apply them to serve others.

If you’re a veteran or a family member of the fallen reading this post, I want you to know that healing and growth can occur through service. Join us in serving as a Mentor to youth and experience a life changing mission!

I'm a Veteran who has transitioned and would like more information on TMF's services: https://rly.pt/JoinTMF

I'm not a Veteran in transition but am interested in learning more about TMF: https://rly.pt/AboutTMF

I have served in the U.S. military and would like to learn more about Veteran benefits from the VA: https://rly.pt/3YsOmQi