When Holly Springs Police Officer David Boyd was honorably discharged from the Marines in 2008, he felt very isolated. Dealing with a disability he suffered while on active duty, he had a tough time navigating the resources that were available to veterans, and it took him a while to get his life back on track. Today, he is a role model for how veterans can positively serve their community after serving their country. He is a familiar face to children at Pine Springs Preparatory Academy in Holly Springs where he works as the School Resource Officer and has been with the Holly Springs Police Department for nearly 3 years.
This Fall, Boyd is leading a Police Department Veterans Outreach Day on Saturday, November 16 from 11:00am – 3:00pm at the Holly Springs Law Enforcement Center. “I wanted it to be a one stop shop so we can help vets and their families lead better lives,” said Officer Boyd. Veterans at the event will be able to interact with representatives from a wide variety of services including the VA Center, the Brain Injury Association of North Carolina, Stop Soldier Suicide and multiple groups that help veterans make connections with others who have gone through the same transition.
One of the organizations at the event will be the Travis Manion Foundation, a group that empowers veterans and the families of fallen heroes to use their leadership skills to build character in young people in their communities. “While they are in the military, service members have a clear sense of purpose, there is a sense of patriotism and looking after their brothers and sisters to the right and left of them and their job is to defend them, and often we find when service members are transitioning back into civilian life they don’t have that super clear sense of purpose anymore,” said Kaitlyn Shepard of the Travis Manion Foundation. “An event like this is going to bring all these people into the same room so they can find non-profits like ours, companies who want to hire veterans, higher education opportunities and a chance to meet other veterans who have successfully transitioned.”
Another benefit to attending the event is the chance for veterans to develop relationships with officers in the Holly Springs Police Department. Approximately 30 percent of the force are veterans themselves and sometimes having that connection can make a big difference.
“When a call comes into our dispatcher and it’s clear that a veteran is going through PTSD, that dispatcher tries to send an officer who is a veteran and that can often help de-escalate the situation,” said Officer Boyd.
In fact, Holly Springs has officers who have gone through the Veterans in Crisis Response Training Program where they are exposed to realistic role play scenarios with coaching and feedback in order to learn the best ways to deal with veterans in crisis.
More than 51,000 veterans live in Wake County according to the 2017 Census, and many of them call Holly Springs home.
“People don’t realize that southern Wake County has a huge veteran population, along with many active duty service members who live in Holly Springs but commute to Fort Bragg. Those folks are also welcome at the event so they can help plan their adjustment to the private sector when they retire,” said Boyd.
Officer Boyd is just one example of how veterans can be a valuable asset to their community, and he is hopeful that this event will serve as the spark to connect others to a bright future.
List of organizations attending
Veterans Outreach Day:
Department of Veterans Affairs
The Raleigh VA Vet Center
Travis Manion Foundation
Team Red, White & Blue
Vets to Vets United, Inc
The Raider Project
Stop Soldier Suicide
US Veterans Corps
American Legion Post 116
Brain Injury Association of North Carolina
Military Missions in Action
Wake Tech Military & Veteran Programs
NCServes Central Carolina
USO of North Carolina
NCWorks Career Centers – Raleigh/Clayton
North Carolina Department of Commerce
Lone Survivor Foundation
Western Governors University
NCSU Veterans Services
TigerSwan
SOFlete
Veterans Crisis Intervention Team
