MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Every Tuesday, as part of our Greater Memphis on a Mission Series, we highlight organizations making Memphis better. This week, our Corie Ventura caught up with a group that creates a healthy culture for veterans.
If you see a group of people sporting really short shorts while at Top Golf, bowling, at a car wash, or hiking, don’t be alarmed. It’s all for a good cause.
“We are an unorthodox organization. We come up with creative community events to draw veterans out of isolation and network with other brothers and sisters who understand them and know some of the things that they have been through,” said Brad Bell, co-coordinator of Irreverent Warriors.
Irreverent Warriors is a national non-profit organization with a chapter in Memphis. They bring veterans together using humor and camaraderie to improve mental health and prevent veteran suicide.
► GREATER MEMPHIS ON A MISSION
“22 veterans a day are giving up hope and committing suicide, and that’s 22 too many,” Bell said. “So our mission to prevent veteran suicide is very important because so many families are affected by the loss of that loved one.
Bell, who served in the Marine Corps and was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, knows firsthand the importance of this group.
When he integrated back into civilian life, he says, “I felt like I had lost my purpose, and I ended up losing everything, my family, I was alone, and for about three years, I struggled to regain a sense of purpose.”
“This organization helped save my life through that three years of darkness. And then when I came out of it, I found sobriety. I found brothers and sisters who understood me and were willing to welcome me back,” Bell said.
Bill McKee, another member of Irreverent Warriors, was an aviation technician and combat air crewman.
“I went over to Iraq and Afghanistan on a SWCC team, which is special warfare combatant-craft crewmen. We did a lot of insertions and extractions,” McKee said.
When McKee returned to civilian life, a close friend told him about Irreverent Warriors and how they use humor to help heal.
“They say laughter is the best medicine, and humor,” McKee said. “If you go through a lot of trauma or if you’re around a lot of trauma. Humor is what kind of mitigates that trauma. So it brings you out of the dark place.”
For them, get-togethers are actually “vet-togethers”.
Luis Torrez served in the army’s transportation division and did two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He loves how hands-on the members are. They don’t hand you a pamphlet with a 1-800 number on it as you head into civilian life.
“Here’s someone’s personal number that I can call. I can call any of these guys at 2 in the morning and say hey, I feel like crap, can you talk and five of them will show up at my door,” Torrez said.
That is why Brown Missionary Baptist Church and the Mid-South Genesis CDC donated $1,000 to Irreverent Warriors Memphis because when you offer social activities in a non-judgmental atmosphere, you reduce isolation.
More information on Irreverant Warriors can be found here.