Pensacola veteran wants to help others fight PTSD with conversation, camaraderie & coffee
For the owner of Freedom’s Found Coffee, Raymond Herr, the shop’s existence is about far more than coffee or profit.
“I never thought I was going to start a coffee shop,” Herr said. “What generated this is, as I was nearing the end of my time in the military some really good friends of mine committed suicide from PTSD … I remember asking God why are you letting my friends kill themselves and why am I messed up?”
Like many veterans afflicted by mental health struggles, Herr is still battling with the repercussions of serving multiple tours. Despite these lingering battles, he hopes veterans in the area can find inspiration, support and faith amongst each other while in Freedom’s Found Coffee.
The new coffee shop is centered around supporting veterans and servicemembers and opened its doors on June 8 within University Town Center near the University of West Florida.
Herr hopes for the shop to be a haven for veterans who are looking to discuss and explore matters of mental health such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder alongside those who can relate to their experiences.
How does a coffee shop support veterans?
Herr is a retired U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. in the Tactical Air Control Party with eight combat deployments. He has also earned a Master of Arts degree in U.S. history from Liberty University and is finishing his doctoral degree this year in community care and counseling, with a major in trauma, at the same institution.
He hopes to start support groups for veterans and servicemembers in the shop, likely on Tuesdays, starting with stress management.
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Throughout the store you’ll see multiple photos of U.S. veterans across different wars – such as a World War II soldier making coffee with a bayonet – that reflect Freedom’s Found Coffee’s values: faith, family, country and coffee. There are even flags set up for each branch of service aside from the Coast Guard, whose flag is coming to the shop soon, according to Herr.
Herr has seen multiple former comrades and friends lose their mental health battle, motivating him to establish a space where veterans can discuss mental health in a therapeutic manner rather than them having to manage their pain alone with drugs, alcohol or worse.
“I didn’t know PTSD was what I had, I just felt like I was losing my mind and I didn’t know much about it,” he said.
After his studies and learning to manage his own struggles with PTSD, Herr now believes that community support is a better antidote than what’s traditionally presented to struggling veterans and hopes to share his learned lessons with them.
“I didn’t really think I had the ability before, but all of a sudden people started coming up to me and so many of those conversations happened over coffee,” Herr said.
Instead of opening the shop to earn a fortune, Herr just wants to be able to pay his employees and the bills while doing his part to uplift his local community of veterans and servicemembers.
Where is University Town Center's new coffee shop?
Freedom’s Found Coffee can be found at 1765 E. Nine Mile Road, Suite 8, right next to Target off of East Nine Mile Road and University Parkway.
University Town Center's new coffee addition is open every day of the week except for Sunday. The shop is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and will close an hour later on Saturdays.
What can I get at Freedom’s Found Coffee?
Customers can buy a variety of caffeinated beverages at Freedom’s Found Coffee. Additionally, they serve hot chocolate and tea in addition to some bottled drinks.
You can also purchase two kinds of merchandise from Freedom’s Found Coffee’s. They have coffee bags available for $14 each and their T-shirts cost $19.99.
For more information visit facebook.com/freedomsfoundcoffee.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola coffee shop Freedoms Found Coffee opens on Nine Mile Road