EAST PALESTINE — A program aimed at helping first responders and veterans rest, restore and refresh plans to use $100,000 from Ohio’s capital budget for a pavilion and trails at the wooded retreat known as Camp Braveheart.

State Sen. Al Cutrona, R-Canfield announced the award in a press release last week.

Camp Braveheart President and Founder Kelli Hephner had a dream of a camp, a place where first responders, the people who see too much while saving lives and responding to calls, can relax, talk to each other, deal with the stresses of the job and heal.

Hephner spent many years on the front lines as an EMT and her firefighter husband, Greg, comes from a family of firefighters. She started the first responder wellness program in Columbiana County in 2022 through the county Mental Health and Recovery Services Board and then one day not long ago, former MHRSB director Marcy Patton asked what she wanted to do.

The faith-based nonprofit known as Camp Braveheart was born in December 2023.

Hephner, who’s also involved with Heroes & Halos, said the name was originally going to be Camp Hope but that name was already taken so she checked with some first responders and they came up with Camp Braveheart, which she loved.

“We’ve been building up our programming and I just prayed that God would provide us property and he did,” Hephner said.

There’s 80-plus acres on Carbon Hill Road that’s being leased with nothing on it but nature. The state money will be used to put in some walking trails and a pavilion. She said they want to keep it primitive, but maybe put up some cabins someday. She said they have a vision for the future.

They’ve had some campfires out there and work days and done a lot of peer support. The group currently meets at different locations for the various programs, with information about everything Camp Braveheart has to offer on its website at braveheartcamp.org. That’s also where people can make donations or become a volunteer.

“At Camp Braveheart, our mission is to provide veterans and first responders with the opportunity to walk alongside one another and their families to find healing, restoration, and resiliency through recreation and nature with like-minded peers,” the website said.

That can include EMTs, firefighters, police officers and even the coroner’s office, along with veterans.

“You don’t realize the toll it takes on them,” Hephner said.

She goes out on trauma calls to try to help as a first responder chaplain. When asked why she decided to work in this field and start the program, she said, “I just felt like it was something God was calling me to do.”

“It’s humbling to watch that answered prayer unfold,” she said, referring to Camp Braveheart.

The nonprofit is overseen by a board of seven people which includes first responders.

To learn more, visit the website at braveheartcamp.org or the Facebook page.