The story below is from our July/August 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Travis Overstreet II plans adventure trips for veterans, tossing them a lifeline to Mother Nature.
Lindsey Hull
Travis Overstreet
As a kid, Travis Overstreet II spent three weekends a month in the outdoors, tagging along on climbing, paddling and backpacking trips where his scoutmaster dad – quite literally – showed him the ropes.
Overstreet turned those lessons into a career spanning over three decades. Now, he mostly uses his passion to serve veterans who may be dealing with homelessness, isolation or mental health conditions. Overstreet can relate; he’s a veteran, too.
Together they go on climbing, paddling or camping trips. Maybe they go fishing. He listens. He becomes a friend, a brother.
“A lot of the people I work with, they really don’t have anybody. A lot of them are just coming off the streets,” Overstreet says. He tells them, “We’ve got you. You’ve got a family.”
This year, Overstreet will spend one day a week and one weekend a month taking veterans on adventures: first aid, ropes, rafting, blacksmithing. Not surprisingly, the list reads like a summer camp program – Overstreet worked at a local Boy Scout of America camp as a youth.
Ask Overstreet why he devotes so much time to planning and leading trips for veterans, and you’ll get a somber answer.
“Jesse Whitield was my stepbrother,” Overstreet says. “He wanted to follow in my footsteps … He told me that he felt safe because he knew that I was over [seas] keeping him safe over here, and he wanted to return the favor.”
Not long after Overstreet was honorably discharged from the Marines, Whitfield reported to the Army. He was just in time for the Iraq War. His stepbrother returned with PTSD, Overstreet says. “He saw the worst of the worst.”
Courtesy of Travis Overstreet
Whitfield lost that battle, taking his own life in 2016.
“I’ve lost one, I’m not going to lose another,” Overstreet says. He hesitates. The number is higher. He’s personally lost three people, he adds.
Overstreet knew he had to do something to help with the mental health crisis. He remembered seeing the joy and happiness that outdoor programming can bring to people, he says.
He started planning one or two trips for military members or veterans each year. He set aside a little money from every paycheck to fund the activities. At the time, it paid for just a few people to attend. He wanted to do more.
Three years ago, Overstreet and Beyond Boundaries executive director Shep Roeper connected during a fundraiser for Beyond Boundaries, a Richmond-headquartered non-profit that provides outdoor adventures to underserved individuals. Roeper had noticed Overstreet’s programs for veterans and offered to collaborate, Overstreet says.
The resulting Veteran’s Day paddling and climbing weekend at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Rivers Rice Center was a hit. Overstreet became part of the Beyond Boundaries team and serves as the Roanoke area program coordinator for that organization. The Veterans Day trip is now held annually.
Outings are open to all veterans and members of the military, regardless of ability. Some might walk with a cane or have trouble climbing out of boats. He gives them a hand and encourages attendees to meet their own goals – perhaps dipping a toe just outside their personal comfort zones.
“It’s not always about getting to the top. It’s about getting to your top,” Overstreet says.
Overstreet stays busy. While his focus has been working with veterans, empowering kids is a close second. Overstreet is teaming up with Humble Hustle to lead some trips and wants to do the same for other groups.
“We need to ensure that kids have as much positivity and self-confidence to step into the real world,” he says. Climbing and paddling give them that confidence. When kids accomplish a feat, Overstreet reminds them of their own grit and determination.
Amidst the commitments and the climbs, Overstreet spends time with wife Jennifer and their two children. When life is overwhelming, Overstreet says he can always step into the woods and listen to the creek or the birds. Take a breath. And then go tackle his day.
The story above is from our July/August 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!