Stepping up for mental health

Placing 20 pounds of weight in her vest, Zoe Elyada prepared for the starting whistle for the second annual Park County CHAD 1000x Challenge. She wanted to feel the weight with every step up and then feel the relief she gets when she can finally take off the vest after 1,000 steps.

“I’ve had incredible trauma and abuse in the past. It is that heavy weight that if I choose to continually carry it, I will have the effects from it and need to work through it,” the Cody resident said. “When I get to a point where I can lift the weight off and let it go — it’s the difference between slogging through life with something weighing me down versus being able to run without that extra weight.”

Elyada used to keep her struggles from her work as an EMT and surviving an abusive relationship locked up deep inside. She was diagnosed with PTSD. Then she found Downrange Warriors.

The nonprofit offers counseling programs for former military and first responders as those seeking emotional and mental health battle against an unseen enemy attacking the mind and spirit.

“The war we fight is not against flesh and blood,” the organization said in a public statement. “In too many cases, the enemy is winning.”

Downrange Warrior’s mission is to prevent suicide by those coping with the adversities of post-traumatic stress of war and first responders that wound the heart, mind and soul. Trauma commonly happens during combat, whether it’s in the military or in communities as first responders. Too often, that trauma is compounded by a series of poor decisions, the organization states. It is as if trauma has reduced the spiritual defense systems and left those in jeopardy vulnerable to myriad more dangerous life choices that may lead to addiction, homelessness or even suicide.

After graduating from Downrange Warriors Reboot program, Elyada has learned not to hide her story.

“I will no longer hide what I’ve been going through. Hiding has allowed the trauma, the abuse and the pain to continue. My sharing in appropriate places (encourages) somebody else to say, ‘Tell me more about your experience. I’m going through the same thing.’”

Josh Foster broke his back during an altercation as a state SWAT team member in a prison near Boston. But after the bones mended, his emotional trauma from years and years of law enforcement remained untreated. Then he found Downrange Warriors.

Now he’s a leader in the organization and of the CHAD 1000x program.

“This workout was designed for the mental side of things,” Foster said. “Can I keep pushing myself? And much like our people in uniform, it’s a mental game when they were in uniform and out of uniform. Can I survive this? Can I get through this?”

Foster did some of the 20-inch and larger steps without a problem, but then he put on loaned armor from the Park County Sheriff’s Office and the sweat began to pour from his brow.

“A thousand steps takes a little over an hour and 20 minutes to do this. But, there’s a point where you want to give up, and that’s the purpose of suicide prevention and awareness,” he said. “When people finally hit that point where they want to (attempt suicide), it’s a matter of giving up, and this is letting them know they can still work through it. They understand the mind game and the mind strength you need to keep pushing forward.”

But on this day, Foster wasn’t just sweating. He was attempting to top last year’s donations — calculated per step — while knowing the current economy is somewhat challenging. But he wants folks to know that every cent of their donations to the 501(c)(3) goes right back into helping people. 

“Everything is free, and that’s where the money is so important; to expand our programs,” he said.

The program recently expanded to Lovell, which has been added to the Cody program.

“As we expand our footprint, the help from the community goes a long way to helping the people I serve,” Foster said.

The newest donor to Downrange Warriors offered his services rather than a fat check. Garrett Linebaugh, owner of WYTEX BBQ, donated all the food for the event.

“Downrange Warriors is a great group of people, and they’re doing a great thing,” Linebaugh said.

He cooks Texas style barbecue with a Wyoming twist.

“I was born and raised in Wyoming all my life. But I like the way the Texans cook their food, so I use a little bit of what I grew up with, and I mixed it with the Texas style,” he said.

The food was a godsend for the last group of the day as they filled CrossFit Cody with their activity, which often donates its gym to help Downrange Warriors. The public was invited and some, like gubernatorial candidate and former military officer Brett Bien and his wife Susan, Park County Sheriff Darrell Steward and several current and former Downrange Warriors reboot graduates, came to cheer on the fundraising athletes.

For more information, call Todd Bray and Foster at 307-578-8484. Donate to Downrange Warriors, P.O. Box 2251, Cody, WY 82414.