From Service to Survival: Navigating PTSD, Purpose and Purpose Built Rescue

Awareness with Rob Daniels

Join us for a raw and riveting conversation with Graham Bettes, retired Canadian Armed Forces Sergeant, 32-year veteran with the Peel Regional Police, ordained chaplain, and the visionary behind The Valhalla Project Niagara. After being diagnosed with PTSD himself, Graham turned his lived experience of trauma, survival, and service into a mission: creating a safe, insightful community and program for veterans and first responders experiencing post-traumatic stress.

In this episode, we explore:

• The journey from heavy frontline service to the personal reckoning of PTSD.

• How Graham transformed his own healing path into the creation of a non-profit and residential program (Learn to Live Again) for others.

• The power of peer-based lived experience versus traditional therapeutic models.

• Practical coping tools, lifestyle adjustments, and the role of service dogs in PTSD recovery.

• Lessons on leadership, resilience, and purpose-driven change from someone who has walked the walk.

Whether you are a veteran, first responder, mental health advocate, or simply someone interested in how purpose arises from pain, this conversation will challenge, inspire, and deepen your understanding of trauma, recovery, and transformation.