At Athletic Club Boise, the Community Impact STAR — Service, Teamwork, Accountability, and Responsibility — is symbolized by a single purple chair inside our stadium.
The chair reflects both the eye of the falcon in our crest and the Idaho star garnet. More importantly, it represents the people and organizations who strengthen our community in lasting ways, those who show up for others, create opportunity, and help shape a stronger future for Idaho.
During our September 11 home match against New York Cosmos, Athletic Club Boise recognized Jacki Briggs, founder and director of Courageous Survival, as our latest Community Impact STAR honoree.
TURNING EXPERIENCE INTO ACTION
For Briggs, the mission of Courageous Survival is deeply personal.
As the wife of a first responder and combat veteran, and through her family’s experiences with trauma and post-traumatic stress, Briggs saw firsthand how difficult it can be to find the right support.
After seven Treasure Valley first responders died by suicide within a three-and-a-half-year period, she knew more had to be done.
“No one should have to go through that alone,” Briggs says.
SUPPORTING IDAHO’S EVERYDAY HEROES
Courageous Survival connects first responders, military service members, veterans and their families with mental health and wellness resources across Idaho.
The nonprofit provides enhanced peer support, consultations and resource guides at no cost. Its team also offers advocacy, critical incident stress management, debriefings, outreach, presentations and training throughout the state.
That peer-to-peer connection is central to the organization’s work. By bringing together people who understand the realities of service and trauma, Courageous Survival helps individuals and families recognize when support is needed — and gives them the confidence to reach out.
SMASHING THE STIGMA
Briggs wants first responders and their families to know they are not alone.
“We can smash the stigma of mental health. We can smash the stigma of suicide, and we can do something together,” she says.
For Briggs, Athletic Club Boise’s platform offers an opportunity to carry that message farther. Players and clubs are community leaders, mentors and role models, giving sport the power to start conversations that can change — and save — lives.
HONORING SERVICE AND SACRIFICE
Recognizing Briggs during Athletic Club Boise’s September 11 match carried added meaning on the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
The occasion offered a moment to honor what first responders give to their communities while acknowledging the lasting physical and emotional effects that service can carry.
It also reinforced the message at the heart of Courageous Survival: help is available, healing is possible, and there is always hope.
RECOGNITION, IN CONTEXT
On September 11, Jacki Briggs took her place in Athletic Club Boise’s Purple Seat as the club’s newest Community Impact STAR honoree.
The recognition honors a leader transforming personal experience into statewide action — connecting Idaho’s everyday heroes and their families with the resources, peer support, and hope they need to move forward.
To learn more about Courageous Survival, access its resources or find ways to get involved, visit courageoussurvival.org.