My Nonprofit Reviews

My experience with Operation Second Chance Heroe’s Ridge at Raven Rock was like none I ever had. I was invited to a Caregiver retreat. I had not been away from my family in 10 years. So I knew this was something that I needed. The minute we arrived I felt at peace. There was this calming feeling vibe the first 2 days of being at Heroe’s Ridge. It was a feeling like I had only felt for an hour or so back at home and that was like once every 6 months. This feeling lasted for two days and I was the most Amazing feeling I had not had in a. Long time. It was that feeling that I had no responsibilities, I didn’t have to take care of my husband or our kids. I didn’t have to drive someplace as I’m always driving everyday. I didn’t have to think of what to make for dinner, I didn’t have to do laundry it was the one time I did not have to do anything except breathe! I never get to just relax in my everyday life. It’s something I have longed for and I wasn’t even expecting to feel the way I did but it was the most Wonderful feeling in the world. The kindness of Cindy, Lisa, Katie and the volunteers was just the best feeling in the world. They truly made me feel loved, cared for and they genuinely treated me like family! I loved every minute of my stay at Heroe’s Ridge. The Wonderful Caregivers that I was able to meet and connect with was just the icing on the cake. Connecting and sharing with complete strangers but it felt more like a family reunion. I will never forget my experience at Heroe’s Ridge. The day I left as we were driving out I took a deep breath out. I left a piece of my heart at Heroe’s Ridge and will forever be grateful for the love and experiences I made there. Thank you from
The bottom of my Heart!
Patricia Esquivel

To Whom it May Concern,



Being married to my Mentally Disabled Husband is not easy, not easy for anyone. My Veteran deserves better! Over the years I have kept busy trail running to help with my Self-Care. Until recently I found out that I have FAI Hip Impingement. I also have a tear in my lower back that has been causing me pain. Trail running was my stress reliver. You don’t have to pay financially to run outside. But lately its been a struggle because the Dr’s want me to limit my running if I want to continue living a heathy life. My family was also hit with Covid-19 as everyone was. This did not help my Husband Ryan or our son Ryan Jr’s Anxiety. Ryan had to get more medication to help with his depression. The pandemic also set off my son Ryan Jr’s anxiety. Our son Ryan Jr. was not dealing well with having to stay home due to the pandemic. As hard as it was to get him to go to school, school was his way of therapy getting him out and social around people. Before the pandemic we had to pay for our son to see a therapist. But we could not keep up the therapies financially and thought he would do ok since he had a few sessions under his belt. With things going the way they were We all decided to get outside together as a family. Our son Ryan was just learning to ride his bike this summer. It took him some time because of his anxieties. We all decided to get outside. Emma our daughter has a bike, Ryan Jr has a bike but he will need a bigger one soon since he is growing out of the one, we bought him. Emma is 13 years old and Ryan Jr is 10. Since Ryan and I do not have a bike we decided to walk while the kids ride their bike. We all are not yet comfortable yet letting the kids ride bikes alone especially with our son’s anxiety. So, my husband and I walk and the kids ride their bikes. They know to stop at the stop light and wait for us since we are walking. We are also teaching them how to be responsible out on the streets. But my husband Ryan can’t walk very far without getting winded. We have talked about Getting a bike for my husband but it would have to be a bigger bike since Ryan is a bigger Guy. We also talked about getting a bike for me since I can’t run like I used too. But we thought it would be a great activity for All of us to get outside and ride bikes together. This Grant would mean so much to our family. If we could all ride bikes and be on the same page that would mean the world to our kids and to us. I have included a picture I took of us out on our walk while the kids ride their bikes.

Warm Regards

The Esquivel Family