LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) --Â A former Shepherdsville police officer is dedicating his retirement to serving first responders and veterans.
After medically retiring from the United States Navy, Rocco Besednjak joined the Shepherdsville Police Department as an officer.
About seven years later, Besednjak was forced to retire, after being dragged and ran over by Taira Litsey, who is now a convicted felon.
After months of therapy, overcoming PTSD, depression and suicidal thoughts, Rocco Besednjak bought a property in the Appalachian Mountains and opened Camp Hero.
Besednjak has now undergone eight spinal surgeries. He also struggled for months with PTSD, depression and suicidal thoughts.
"By me just telling my story, I can continue to help people. First responders and veterans, especially men, they don't want to talk about mental health, or the hard parts and the weakness of it. So that's why I put myself out there. I go ahead and talk about that I was suicidal because I guarantee a lot of people when I'm talking to people, there's a lot of them in their head, thinking the exact same thing," Besednjak said.
After months of mental and physical therapy, he bought a property in the Appalachian Mountains and opened Camp Hero with his wife.
The all-volunteer nonprofit helps other wounded heroes heal, sometimes even with three-to-four day getaways. Besednjak said veterans and first responders from around the country have attended.
"I can put seven strangers together and within an hour, they're already making fun of each other. Within two hours, they're already making fun of each other's families. But by the end for the night, when they're sitting around the camp fire, they're sitting there, talking about things that they won't even talk to their families about. Because they know the person to the left of them gets it and the person to the right of them gets it; and they won't judge them. People start talking like that, other people realize, 'Hey - I'm not alone,'" Besednjak, said.
They also fish, hunt, and hike together. And, all of the activities are free.
After months of therapy, overcoming PTSD, depression and suicidal thoughts, Rocco Besednjak bought a property in the Appalachian Mountains and opened Camp Hero.
"In the future, we're going to try and start integrating nutrition and physical fitness with our mental health program, because you see a lot of first responders, they start off healthy and fit and stuff. But as their career goes on, that all starts to deteriorate. Mental health and physical health go hand in hand. If you can improve one, then the other one's gonna go up," Besednjak, said.
Besednjak said they're getting ready to launch an "Outside-the-box veteran and first responder mental health maintenance program," where they help men and women immerse in nature for a longer amount of time.
Camp Hero opened four years ago. Besednjak said he has about 40 volunteers helping him run the programs. Together, they serve about 100-250 veterans and first responders a year.
If you'd like to donate to the nonprofit, click here.
The mailing address is 4184 Needlerush Dr. Lexington, KY 40509. Camp Hero's physical address is 186 Viney Hollow Rd. McKee, KY 40447.
Related Stories:
- Woman accused of running over Shepherdsville Police officer to be transported to Bullitt County
- Body camera videos show Shepherdsville officer allegedly run over
- Louisville woman accused of running over police officer pleads not guilty
- Police arrest woman accused of hitting Shepherdsville officer with car
Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
