To raise money and awareness for first responders’ mental health, Chaffee County Sheriff’s Deputy Bryant Young will run 40 miles from Buena Vista to Salida on July 11.
The run is raising money for the Roy Williams Foundation, named after a Chaffee County sheriff’s deputy and U.S. Army veteran who took his own life in 2019.
The charity began with the mission to “prevent or end suicides within the Veteran and First Responder communities by renewing life’s purpose, instilling hope and fostering a community where they have access to the camaraderie of service,” according to the website.
Young said he hopes this run will help raise awareness of many of the struggles first responders face by reminding people that, despite the work they do, they are still human.
“The average person experiences six to 10 traumatic events in their life. Over a 20-year career, we can experience 800,” Young said. “I didn’t know Roy, but I know that there are people in our department that are really close with him. … He was in the military and law enforcement, and he struggled through a lot of things but couldn’t get help because of the stigma.”
Young became a deputy in 2023; before that he was in Denver working in physical therapy and behavioral health research in Denver, according to a June 15 press release. During his time in Denver, he interacted with law enforcement and participated in ride-alongs.
Around the same time, a police officer saved the life of one of his close friends during a suicide attempt.
That is what drew Young to a career in law enforcement.
“I really wanted to find a way to give back in one way or another,” Young said.
Young said that while his previous career in research can be helpful, he felt like he could do more.
“Research has an impact, but that impact is 20 or 30 years down the road,” he said. “I want something positive for the community and Chaffee and law enforcement.”
Young will begin his run at 6 a.m. at 200 Steele Drive and make eight different stops at every first responder station in Buena Vista and Salida.
Young said he intentionally wanted his running path to include all of the different first responder locations in Chaffee County as a show of unity among the different departments.
To make the run happen, he said he had to get special approval from law enforcement to run on the highways, so while people are welcome to join him for rural areas, he will run the majority on his own, followed by first responder vehicles with their lights on.
Young said that while he doesn’t have a specific goal in mind for how much money he wants to raise, he hopes people will donate and that the run will raise awareness for first responder mental health.
To donate to the Roy Williams Foundation, go to roywilliamsfoundation.betterworld.org.