Words from our Founder
My back story
Growing up in a military family can be more difficult than one would think. Both of my parents were in the Air Force for 20+ years, and sometimes they’d be deployed at the same time, which made it harder to build a relationship as a family because we were separated for long periods of time. And afterwards, there was lots of readjusting required as a family, personally, and culturally. After his last deployment to Iraq, my Dad came back different; which was something that I didn’t understand for a long time. The things he had seen and done had made it difficult for him to reintegrate into society, and still does. He wasn’t able to come to terms with his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) properly. Since he didn’t think it was really an issue or something he could talk about, my dad turned to alcohol to cope. This led to missed opportunities for me and lots of anger and resentment between us.
How I got help
Even though my dad was the warrior with PTSD and alcoholism, his diseases still affected me, my Mom and my brother. This isn’t something I really noticed for a while until it got to the point where I wasn’t myself anymore, but I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Luckily my mom could see part of what was causing the change in me and sought out therapy. This proved to be very difficult because she didn’t know where or how to get help at first. And most traditional therapists don’t really understand PTSD or how it can affect family members. But after finding someone who understood the disease and how to treat it, I learned new ways to cope that have helped me manage my issues and become more successful in school, sports and life in general.
My success story… so far!
Since getting help myself, I figured out that my Dad’s issues were not my problems to fix. These days, I feel less weighed down and I enjoy spending time with my friends, am doing well in school and thriving in sports again. I even became a State Champion in both Gymnastics, and Track and Field and competed in the 2021 Junior Olympics! Now I feel like my life has purpose, especially if I can get the word out about PTSD and its impact on family members. Having recently won the Spokesmodel competition at the VA State Final National American Miss Pageant, I plan to use my title of “Miss Springfield” to do just that.
The purpose of this organization
After realizing that PTSD is quite common among first responders and military personnel, I began thinking about how many other kids and families might be going through similar experiences feeling lost and confused; and that many of them probably aren’t aware of what is causing them to feel the way they do. I learned that traditional therapy is not always effective for everyone. This is why I have started Beacon of Hope & Healing. One of my goals is to help first responder and military families find the right track for them. I also want to use this organization to get the word out that mental health, specifically PTSD is very real and that it doesn’t just affect the service member, but also their family and friends. To me, being a beacon for brighter days means helping people like me, who feel lost or alone, find their way out of the darkness.
Meet the Team
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Alexandra Charecky
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Lt Col (retired) K. Heather Charecky, USAF
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Hope Bozec
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Haven Fluke
FINANCIAL ADVISOR
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Robin Kline
RESOURCE OFFICER
