Wrestling with Hope

For those of us in the wrestling community, hope is fundamental on and off the mat. We hope for victory, support, and maybe even scholarships. Parents are much the same, we hope for happy, healthy, and ambitious children.

We send them away to college in hopes of a brighter future or a life that was better than our own.  Hope is an instinct that every man and woman is born with, like a foundation for any good house. Most of us will foster these hopes and dreams into reality through a good spit and shine, wiping the sweat from our brow. 

Just as our fathers and our fathers’ fathers, we start small with friends and family who flock to defend our open backs. We build a support system, like our wrestling community, to live through one another and foster greatness. To simply live the dream, as we do, is to take for granted what was gifted to us all. The education we seek and the homes we build are created on land fought for and protected by brave men and women.

Every day these combat vets grapple with the consequence of our stability, our hopes, and our dreams. Men and women alike who don’t share the inner peace given to us as a birthright. They live lives so different from our own, wrought with strife and disappointment.

The very heroes who’ve protected our country, are met with a new war, one that is difficult to see from the outside.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) affects 11-20% of all combat veterans, and for those afflicted, the mind itself becomes a war. Of those affected, 20% have substance abuse disorders creating a spiral of despondency.

One-third of the homeless population are veterans of the United States and 44 men and women intentionally or unintentionally commit suicide as a byproduct of their combat service daily.

A paradise for some of our brothers in arms lies on 5 acres of Jersey Village land. Camp Hope is for men who have left their hope behind. This place of refuge focuses on the betterment; physical, mental, and spiritual, of combat veterans suffering from PTSD. Camp Hope aims to create a community of healing, one where combat veterans feel the love and appreciation that they deserve. Free of judgment, this camp aims to provide them with purpose and begin to mend their relationship with God and themselves.

Founded in 2012, Camp Hope is an interim housing community that has grown into a multi-faceted, non-profit organization.  Each resident stays an average of 6-18 months based on individual needs.   If necessary, it starts with a 2-month sober living transitional period with a third party.  The only requirement to leave is a job and a place to live. 

While at the camp, residents attend group and individual classes, and support sessions with former combat veterans as well as certified therapists and doctors.  They are required to perform 45 minutes a day of exercise and while faith is not a requirement, attendance to services is. 

The camp currently holds 83 residents and can hold up to 100 with plans to expand to 120 residents within the coming years. 

There are agriculture, maintenance, and construction programs all designed to help heal the invisible wounds of war. Camp Hope is the only PTSD residential campus of its kind and combat veterans are vetted from all over the country. 

They are recommended from jails, and homeless shelters, referred by other veterans, and some may be reading this story.

Currently, 60% of Camp Hope residents are deemed successful compared to a national average of 10%-16% for similar 60–90-day programs. 

This is the dirty truth that none of us want to talk about, but we have to. Lives depend on it.

The parallels between the wrestling community and military service are plentiful. Discipline, camaraderie, and work ethic are just to name a few.  They are our dads, our moms, and our coaches.  All wanting to push a set of values to the next generation.  You can’t be in our community and not know what respect is. 

We live it and we demand it from ourselves and others.  One should ask, why do the Marines recruit at wrestling tournaments?  It’s because they want the best, the brightest, and the ones that won’t quit no matter what.  Now is the time we don’t quit on them.

Camp Hope is 100% privately funded and survives entirely on donations. Camp Hope annually receives roughly $2.9 million in donations thanks to the generous community.

With this, they can comfortably house, feed, and care for the men living there. In addition, everyone’s favorite Houstonian, Mattress Mack, provides generous donations for the comfort of the residents.

The owner of Gringo’s Restaurant has also donated millions of dollars in housing, recreational, and kitchen equipment. The Weatherford Corporation also contributed large donations towards housing and continues to be a huge supporter.

Sarah Rios, Marketing Director of the TX USAW- South Region, suggested the region start leading by example. As parents, we always ask our children to think outside of themselves and to do for others and she felt it was time as a region they do the same. With the full support of the regional board, she proposed Camp Hope as the first of many opportunities to partner with the community and not only give back but to also show the world what wrestlers are capable of.  As many may know, Sean Rios, Sarah’s husband and father to Isabella, Tristan, Luca, and Giuliana (all wrestlers) was a Marine and fallen Houston Police SGT. 

For them, this seemed like a logical fit, but once they all met the Camp Hope family, they knew this was meant to be. 

It was clear from the very beginning, while we were there to offer a donation they felt our purpose in being there was more to further awareness around what Camp Hope.  It was said to us, that while ‘the monetary donation is always helpful, it was the life we would save that was more meaningful.’  Essentially, they feel that by us telling their story, someone out there needs to hear it and needs to know, they have a home.  A home full of hope.  This has changed my life and I wasn’t even looking for it

-Sara Rios

For the donation, on January 14th and 15th at the Legends Event Center in Bryan, Texas the Houston Nationals Wrestling Tournament will be held and $5 of every early entry has been pledged to Camp Hope.  

Tournament information can be found here:  www.wrestlehouston.org

Accepting the check on behalf of Camp Hope are two former wrestlers and combat veterans.

Tommy Labukas

Former PIAA District Champ and Regional Qualifier 
Current Resident at Camp Hope

Josh Mayor

Former 2x State qualifier Oklahoma
Current Resident at Camp Hope

In addition to monetary donations, Camp Hope accepts in-kind donations as well as community efforts such as Eagle Scout projects. See the links below for additional information.

• Camp Hope Website
• Camp Hope Direct Donation
• Camp Hope Amazon Smile Donation List
• Volunteer Opportunities