Charles Gunter credits his family, his faith, and his love of good lawn care with keeping his life balanced and his mental health on track.

The 55-year-old served six years in the Marine Corps Reserve before going into law enforcement, eventually retiring from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in February 2021. Having lost a dear friend from his military days to suicide and then responding to a scene in 2007 where two of his fellow police officers were fatally shot, Gunter takes mental health and managing trauma very seriously.

“As a police officer and veteran, you see a lot of bad things that stay with you forever,” Gunter said. “You don’t know when they’re going to come back up in your mind.”

Over time, he developed PTSD, he said. But he didn’t realize what was wrong until his wife brought it to his attention, telling him that he was no longer the person he was used to be.

“I was always agitated, not eating well, not sleeping well, very withdrawn. I had all the symptoms but I didn’t realize it,” he said.

Recognizing that he had PTSD and needed help coping with it would later inform Gunter’s approach to policing. He went through crisis intervention training to learn how to respond to situations involving people dealing with mental health challenges, struggling with substance abuse, or considering suicide. When the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department started up a full-time unit of eight officers to deal with these sorts of cases, Gunter was one of the eight.

“It really changed my life having PTSD,” Gunter said. “I began looking at people differently—what’s truly affecting them? Because I had been affected in a way I didn’t know was a problem.”

Having seen firsthand the importance of a support system when struggling with mental health, Gunter is a staunch advocate of the Battle Buddy program offered by Veterans Bridge Home.

The Battle Buddy program is an upstream suicide prevention effort, aiming to reduce veteran suicide by training others recognize when their fellow veterans need a sympathetic ear, help navigating a period of transition, or connection to medical assistance.

“The biggest thing I think we can do is listen to someone,” Gunter said. “You don’t have to have the answer, just sit there and listen, let them get it out.”

The introductory phase of the program can be completed in about an hour. Battle Buddies will learn to recognize when there’s a need and how they can help. Eventually, VBH hopes to expand the training to equip Battle Buddies with an in-depth mental health toolkit.