Texarkana military mom starts support group for veterans struggling with PTSD

By JULIE PARR

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    TEXARKANA, Arkansas (KTBS) — A Texarkana mom is honoring her son’s life with the creation of a PTSD support group for military veterans and their families.

The faith-based group, Ben’s Heart Ministry, was started in October. It’s named for Suzy Kroll’s son, Ben Kroll, whose life-ending struggle with the disorder began during his military service.

Ben Kroll joined the Army on his 17th birthday. In 2006, he was deployed to Afghanistan, where he served in Operation Enduring Freedom. When he returned home at the age of 21, his mother says he faced a different kind of battle.

This time it was PTSD.

“It was the 22nd of January, he came back home. He was out of the military. It was that quick, it was immediate. We knew there were issues,” said Suzy Kroll.

She believes the military should better prepare soldiers to transition from combat to civilian life.

“There’s going to be that one day that you see PTSD and your going to see it with a vengeance,” said Suzy Kroll.

There are 22 soldiers who die each day in the United States.

Last Memorial Day, Suzy Kroll walked 22 miles with a group of friends and family to honor her son and bring awareness about PTSD and suicide among combat veterans. Her son made the same walk in May 2023.

“He told me he was going to walk it in April. He said, ‘Mom, I’m going to walk it to try to heal myself, but I want people to know this is real,'” said Kroll.

Ben Kroll took his own life in September.

Suzy Kroll says it’s her son’s heart for helping others that inspired the creation of Ben’s Heart Ministry.

It’s a faith-based veteran’s group for soldiers and their families.

“We just let them talk and share stories with each other because what works for one person doesn’t for another, just give them a place to come and cry and give them the medicine they need to get to the next week,” said Suzy Kroll.

Veteran Greg Sutton knows first hand the challenges soldiers face when they return home from war. He remembers working with Ben Kroll as he struggled between good and bad days.

“His paranoia was on again. He didn’t trust anybody. He got to where he didn’t trust me or Ron or any of his friends that were trying to help him. If anything destroys a soldier going through this, it’s isolation,” said Sutton.

Often times it can be difficult for soldiers to share their experiences with trauma or admit they need help, but Sutton says its essential for recovery.

“You need downtime. You need time to recuperate, time to heal. The best way we’ve seen doing it is with Jesus,” said Sutton.

PTSD also has an impact on families.

Tracey Barakat says most of the clients with Ben’s Heart Ministry are children from military families.

“We give them a safe space to just talk freely and openly and feel loved. We will push the love of Jesus on them, because if they have nobody else to love on them, Jesus will love them,” said Barakat.

Kroll says her son was always fighting for wounded warriors whose scars were not always visible.

“He would be proud that something is being done to help his boys and his brothers and me and his dad. I think he would be proud,” said Suzy Kroll.

The Veterans PTSD group meets at 10 a.m. on the first and third Saturday of the month at the Life House Church in Texarkana, Arkansas.

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