My name is Jeff Shepard and was a police officer  for 10 years and a firefighter for 9 years. I suffer from PTSD and wanted to find a way to assist others struggling with the same things that challenge me.

In July 2012 I was involved in an ambush shooting while on duty. I was attempting to stop a subject that was walking down the street to make a simple subject stop. He pulled a shotgun and attempted to shot me while I was still sitting in my patrol car. A few days after the shooting I started to have issues and I was sent to the department psychologist, where he diagnosed me with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  I spent close to a year in therapy and was eventually able to return to work.

Then almost exactly 3 years later I had someone on the 4th of July throw an IED at my partner and I. The explosive hit me in the right leg and then exploded. It knocked me on the ground, rupturing my eardrum and giving me burns and shrapnel to my arm and face. Again my PTSD disrupted my life and about a year later I was medically retired from the police department.