Every day, an average of 16.8 veterans lose their battle to suicide—a crisis that demands action. Honorguard Coffee was founded to be part of the solution, initially by providing a lifeline through service dogs. These highly trained dogs do more than offer companionship—they empower veterans to navigate the challenges of PTSD and reclaim their independence.

As our understanding of this crisis deepened, we recognized that true healing requires a multifaceted approach. While service dogs remain a critical piece of the puzzle, we have expanded our mission to support a broader network of veteran-led organizations, each dedicated to healing through unique and effective modalities. These organizations are led by veterans who have walked this path themselves—passionate leaders sharing the mechanisms of healing they personally discovered.

By supporting these initiatives, we’re creating more avenues for veterans to find the support they need, whether through service dogs, alternative therapies, community-driven programs, or other life-changing resources. Ending the veteran suicide crisis takes more than one solution—it takes a movement. And every bag of coffee fuels that mission.

My journey with Venus revealed the incredible power of service dogs in transforming a veteran’s life. But it also exposed a deeper issue—while service dogs can be life-changing, access to them is limited, and the cost places them out of reach for many who need them most. I founded Honorguard Coffee to bridge this gap, using a mission-driven business model to fund service dog programs and help veterans reclaim their lives.

My healing journey didn’t end with Venus—there was still a lot of work to be done. Thanks to the support of an amazing organization, Heroic Hearts Project, I had the opportunity to travel to Peru and take part in a healing ceremony with Ayahuasca. This experience was transformative and became a crucial step in my healing. It opened my eyes to the reality that solving the veteran suicide crisis requires many different approaches.

Because of this experience, I dove into the world of veteran-led nonprofits, assisting and advising in their organizational development. What I saw was clear: the key to successfully combating this crisis is enabling and empowering the incredibly passionate veterans leading initiatives of healing, like Heroic Hearts Project and Vital Roots Foundation. Honorguard Coffee exists to fuel their mission—because healing takes a community, and together, we can change the outcome for our nation’s veterans.