Today we’d like to introduce you to Harold Skelton.
Hi Harold, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
My name is Harold Skelton and I am originally from Holyoke Massachusetts, an old industrial paper mill city in the western part of the state and one of the poorest communities in New England. My grandfather, Harold Skelton Sr, an Irish immigrant was a Holyoke police officer and Korean War veteran. He rose through the ranks and retired as the longest-acting police chief in Holyoke’s history. This inspired me to follow in his footsteps and after high school, I went to the intermittent reserve police academy. I became an auxiliary police officer with the West Springfield police department. I also began my first semester of college and after graduating from the University of Westfield state, I decided to move to Florida to take a job with the department of corrections. I wasn’t happy with my career choice and always wanted to serve my country. In 2005, I enlisted in the Air Force as a security force to pursue my dream of becoming a federal agent with the DEA. While serving, I received my master’s from Webster University and then pursued my Ph.D. at Colorado Tech in homeland security functions. I also started teaching as a college adjunct teacher at central Texas college. After a few deployments to Iraq, my commander decided it was in my best interest to medically retire me, something I didn’t agree with, as I thought my mental health was fine. This led to a suicide attempt that left me in a mild coma for almost three days. After separating, I felt like everything I worked so hard for was taken from me as my job in law enforcement was unlikely to happen because of my medical board. I left with some tools to help me but I lived the next 10 years in a constant state of mania and depression, all induced by PTSD. The anxiety and depression of losing my career caused me to drop out of my Ph.D. program, again leaving me with another failure. The years dragged on and in 2016, just 4 months before my first child was due to be born, I again found myself waiting to take my life. I entered a 2-month treatment program at the VA and Finally started taking my treatment seriously as I was about to be a dad.
I finally accepted that it was not my fault and my situation was due to external factors that I could not have changed.
I accepted my new life as a stay home parent, but my drive to be something better and have a career to help people was still Lingering. In 2020 a unique situation left me as a single father of a 7-month-old daughter and a 3-year-old son. At the beginning of 2021, I decided to finally leave my isolated state and moved the kids across the state to Cape Cod to pursue my dream of starting a lure company and nonprofit geared towards healing veterans through fishing while raising awareness to the 22 veterans we continue to lose every day to suicide in the united states. Buzzards Bay and Fishing have always been special to me, and my mission was to launch my nonprofit in the year 2022.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When I started fishing for mission 22 I found it very difficult as the paperwork to incorporate and receive your 501(c) status is not an easy task. As a single father and with my disability pension from the VA, I had to work DoorDash to help fund the cost associated with starting my nonprofit fishing for mission 22. It was def a stressful year to start, but a very humbling experience.
It was a very nerve-racking project and for the first time in 10 years, I took myself out of isolation and put myself back into the public. It was scary as I became a hermit in society. This was a very intimidating situation for me as I was used to being in with my children especially after being a single father in Covid.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Fishing for the Mission 22 is a non-profit geared towards providing a therapeutic approach to help heal veterans through Fishing while raising awareness of the 22 we continue to lose every day to suicide. In 2023 we will be launching our first two programs, operation tackle 22 and common ground 22 health care connect.
Both programs will be the therapeutic side of our program. Operation tackle 22 will be an opportunity for veterans dealing with PTSD and suicidal identities to partake in an 8-course fishing adventure program with fishing guides and therapy while fishing. It will run from May to September. They will have fishing trips from shore and fishing boat charters with local fishing captains. If they complete all required course requirements They will be awarded a custom-built fishing rod built by gw customs and a banquet party at the end of the fishing season in recognition of their dedication and completion of the program.
Common ground 22 healthcare will be an opportunity for veterans to receive additional care outside the VA as we will be opening up a referral system and collaborating our efforts with the New England medical group and Lorenzi healthcare to provide quick treatment for mental health and addiction services.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
My advice for finding mentors is to keep your circles small and only attach to people that have a common interest in helping your cause. I grew up with the mindset of never looking down on anyone unless you’re lending them a hand to help them up.
My biggest marketing tool is my passion to create a program that helps veterans deal with the hidden scars of war.
I have a grassroots mindset. I am always out in the public spreading my mission and I use social media to promote my fundraising. I’ve had a lot of success thinking outside of the box and doing fundraising events throughout Cape Cod including cornhole tournaments, chowder festivals, and big fishing derbies.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fishingforthemission22.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FFTM22?mibextid=LQQJ4d
