We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shawn Moore. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shawn below.

Alright, Shawn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

After finishing the police academy in 2006, I thought it would remain my profession until I retired. Funny how things shift when you least expect it. The defining moment for me that changed the trajectory of my career was becoming a caregiver for my husband, a 23-year Army Veteran. Although my defining moment was due to my husband’s invisible injuries of war, many of us have found ourselves unconsciously becoming caregivers over the past few years due to the pandemic. One good thing that has come out of the pandemic is a focus on caregiving being a social determinant of health.

I came to the realization a few years after marrying my husband in 2015, that being a police officer was not conducive to being a caregiver. Getting a phone call from my husband telling me he wasn’t doing well and needed me home was not something I could navigate when I was answering a 911 call on duty. I knew I was going to have to shift but didn’t know what to do until I became an Elizabeth Dole Foundation Caregiver Fellow in 2017. I realized through my fellowship that there were gaps in service for those of us living in veteran caregiver homes, to include the children. My answer to that was going back to school to complete my Masters in Social Work and starting Caregivers on the Homefront, a non-profit that supports the mental health and wellness of military, veteran, and first responder family members.

Shifting is something that many caregivers find themselves doing. But for many caregiving becomes their entire identity and careers and professional endeavors get pushed to the side. I found that I had to let go of controlling my caregiver journey if I wanted to continue fueling my soul through professional endeavors. My husband’s mental health challenges led me to feeling as if I had to be present 24/7 just in case he found himself in a crisis. Yet, doing so was affecting my own mental health. I learned that letting go of thinking I could control those situations led me to greater fulfillment as a person.

If you only take away one thing from reading my story remember this – YOU can do anything you put your mind to. It may take more time but finding something you love to do is in each of you. Shifting can be the best thing that ever happened to you! I find so much joy in advocating for other family members on the local, state, and national level. Having other caregivers in my corner is good for my own mental health as well.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Caregivers on the Homefront is a non-profit based in Kansas City, MO that supports veteran, military, and frontline family members all across the United States. through mental health and wellness programs. Our programs are designed using evidence based therapies and best practices. What sets us apart from others is that we are mental health professionals who are veteran family caregivers as well. We can provide peer and mental health support at two different levels. We are super excited to share that our name will be changing January 1st, 2024 to Operation Frontline Families! Same great mission with a name that better reflects who we support.

Our programs consist of our mental health and wellness restorative weekend, trauma and peer support groups, art workshops, Mental Health First Aid, QPR, and Asist Trainings, and our Homefront Hangout peer mentorship program for tweens/teens living in caregiving homes. We also speak at conferences and to corporations, advocate at all levels of government, and provide cultural competency training.

We have been in business for six years and provide services both in-person and virtually. I am most proud of bringing up topics that are not often talked about in this space such as domestic violence, secondary and generational trauma in this population, and suicidal ideation in the family members. Our communities do a great job of supporting our veterans, yet we do not provide holistic healing to make sure the entire veteran family unit is healthy.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Resilience is something that I have had to lean on more times than once in growing our non-profit. You may think that since we are supporting veteran family members that funding support has come easy. I thought the same thing. Unfortunately, I had to learn that many people in our communities do not know what these family members are going through behind the scenes when caring for a veteran, service member, or frontline family member. Kansas City is not a military town, therefore, I have found that I have to get in front of people to tell my story for people to understand why we need to support this population. It goes past supporting homeless veterans. At one time they weren’t homeless. Prevention is key to keeping these families together. To lesson divorce, suicide, homelessness and trauma in this population we must support the entire veteran family unit.

As I am very intimately involved with caregiving, I understand. It has gotten very frustrating at times when the no’s have come when asking for support. But for a ton of no’s the Yes’s come and the world is brighter and we get to serve more people!

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Networking and getting in front of people is key to growing our organization. When others hear of what we do and why, they are on board immediately! I have had to grow my confidence in speaking to those I don’t know, cold calling, and elevator pitches!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://caregivers-homefront.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caregivers.homefront/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/caregiversonthehomefront/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawn-moore-lmsw
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/CHomefront
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@caregiversonthehomefront9897