Founder's story
The Guardian Goose Foundation didn’t come from an idea, it came from experience.
After 15 years in fire and EMS, I’ve seen what this job can do to people. The long shifts, the calls that stick with you, the expectation that no matter what you just walked away from, you’re fine… and you move on to the next one. You learn pretty quickly to push things down and keep going, because that’s just what you’re supposed to do.
That’s the culture.
And for a long time, I was right there with it.
Until I wasn’t.
It wasn’t one bad call or one specific day, it was everything adding up over time. The kind of weight you don’t even realize you’re carrying until it finally hits you all at once. And when it did, I didn’t know what to do. My family didn’t know what to do either. We were just trying to figure it out as we went, and even though I was already seeing a professional, it still felt like something was missing.
That’s when it really hit me.
There’s a gap in how we deal with mental health, especially in this line of work. It’s that space before a crisis, when you’re still going to work, still doing your job, still telling everyone you’re fine… but underneath it, things are starting to slip.
And there’s no clear support in that moment.
That’s the space Guardian Goose was built for.
why a goose?
The goose wasn’t just a symbol, it came from a real moment.
During a time when I was away and going through my own struggles, I found myself spending time with other first responders and military members. We’d sit outside near an apple orchard, feeding wild Canadian geese and just talking, laughing, decompressing, and processing everything we had been carrying.
There was nothing formal about it. No structure. No pressure.
Just people who understood.
In those moments, something became clear, not one of us was alone in what we were going through. Even though our experiences were different, the weight felt the same. And being around others who truly “got it” made that weight feel a little lighter.
It reminded me that there’s strength in connection. That when people come together, support each other, and move forward as a group, they can handle far more than they ever could alone.
That’s what the goose represents.
Geese don’t fly solo, they move together, support each other, and adjust when one falls behind.
That experience became the foundation for everything Guardian Goose stands for.