Fighting PTSD through coffee: 'We have a common bond that we need to help other people'
BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Brent Rowe finds peace roasting coffee in his Boise shop.
“It just helps my life so much you know. To me there's a meditative state that I get into when I'm roasting and it's when I leave here I'm always relaxed,” Rowe said.
To Rowe, coffee is more than a quick drink in the morning. The process of creating a cup of joe is an art form.
He shared some of his process of roasting the beans with CBS 2 News.
“This is this is Guatemalan, Costa Rican” Rowe says pointing at the bins of coffee beans. “This is from the mountains in Chiapas Mexico. That grows a really, really delicate bean. The Sumatra is a is a darker roast. That brings out the oils and it's almost got an earthy taste to it that I love.”
Rowe says he is proud of his coffee projects over the years. He’s spent most of his life battling PTSD and says his latest project has helped him and he wants to help others.
“I left home at a very young age, a silly young age,” Rowe said. “Also, I found out that alcohol would take care of the PTSD the nightmares the seclusion. I could be somebody and happy. What had happened was through that time I fell off the fence to a time that I couldn't get back on the fence again.”
Rowe joined the Army and later the Air Force.
“There was an incident when I was in Turkey that elevated my PTSD to a point that it's never been that bad before," Rowe said, "And I did really good in the army. I can to tell you that! But in the Air Force, at the end I was not worth anything.”
Brent turned to alcohol once again.
“Finally, I got arrested two days in a row for DUIs and was put in jail for six months,” Rowe said.
Rowe went to vet court.
“It's changed my life,” Rowe said. “I've had some bumps in the road since then. Jarad has been there for each one of them.”
Jared Webb met Rowe in vet court after he was arrested for prescription fraud. He was a Marine prior to becoming a police officer.
“I wasn't a combat veteran, but the 16 years that I spent in the police department, I stacked up quite a bit of trauma that went through undealt with,” said Webb. “I was suffering from PTSD and didn’t recognize that's what it was.”
Webb says that vet court helped him and his family get back on track.
“I went into a very dark place for a while contemplated suicide very heavily,” Webb said. “And luckily, I was admitted into veteran's treatment court which saved my life. And in that courts where I met Brent, and he kind of showed me that my life wasn't over... that I just needed to change gears.”
A new path ahead
Rowe and Webb say there is a certain camaraderie with the people they have met in their journey that is special. So special, that they wanted to do something to help give back to the support systems that helped them.
The idea was brought to light, through a cup of coffee.
“He [Rowe] had the idea to use coffee to give back to the community that had helped us out of the deep hole we dug ourselves in,” Webb said. “And so I as soon as I tasted and smelled his coffee I was in. I was like, ‘Oh, this is it. Like is this good! Like, we could sell this and the money that we could make, we could help a lot of people.’”
Rowe and Webb partnered together to create a nonprofit Zero Dark Thirty Coffee.
“'Zero Dark Thirty', it’s military slang for really early in the morning,” Webb said. “Everything that's done before the sun comes up is at Zero Dark Thirty.”
They roast and package coffee to sell. Money goes to veteran and law enforcement support programs. Webb says they are working with groups such as Homeward for Heroes and Save a Warrior.
Zero Dark Thirty also serves coffee at events and people can purchase bags of coffee beans at those events too.
Bags of coffee are also sold online. They have different kinds of roasts for just about any taste preference.
Rowe and Webb say that while roasting and selling coffee is something they enjoy personally, they remember its mission: Helping those who helped them.
“There's so many veterans and police officers, EMT workers there's just so many people out there that are suffering from PTSD. The suicide rates so high along with COVID. And, and so we have a common bond that we need to help other people because someone was always there for us. Always there,” Rowe said. “And it was important for me personally to give back. And I love roasting coffee and the two just fit together.”
You can purchase bags of Zero Dark Thirty Coffee Here.
If you aren’t a coffee drinker, there is also a donation tab.
For support, you can contact the Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255. There are options to text and chat as well.
