Help us welcome them back to Owensboro and to FA5!
Supporting Heroes was born when a small group came together in early 2004 to discuss an idea about helping public safety personnel in their community. One of those present was Bill Keithley – father of Saint Louis Police Officer Gabriel Keithley. Officer Keithley had recently been shot and seriously wounded in the line of duty and his partner, Officer Nicholas Sloan, had been killed. Bill had watched as the public safety family in Saint Louis united to support Gabe, Gabe’s family, and the family of Officer Sloan. He had also watched in amazement as the BackStoppers – a Saint Louis support organization for public safety families – helped the family of his son’s partner.
Also present was Eric Johnson, a leader of the Kentucky Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors – an organization that provides peer support to families and co-workers of police officers killed in the line of duty. While the peer support provided by that organization on a national level is unparalleled, he had been consistently frustrated by the lack of financial support that was available to families following a line of duty death. It had long been his dream to help form a local organization similar to The BackStoppers to provide the much needed support. By the end of the first meeting, the group had decided to make that dream a reality. Hence, Supporting Heroes was born.