A Maryland Nonprofit Corporation 501(c)(3) pending, providing free therapy, peer support, mental health and wellness coaching, service dogs, therapy dogs, training, and resources at no cost for first responders, veterans, and their families nationwide. 

More first responders die by suicide than in the line of duty.

They run toward what we run from. They carry calls home that no one should carry alone. Carry the Line funds the therapy, peer support, service dogs, and so much more to bring them back from crisis.

You already know what this is about.

You've worked the call that changed something inside you.
You've sat in the driveway for ten minutes before walking into your own house.
You've watched a brother or sister in uniform go quiet — and hoped someone else would check on them.

Or maybe you've never worn a badge — but one showed up for you on the worst day of your life.

This is for them.

Why we built this

I'm Dylan Cade Bates — MS-THSP, MS-CMHC, PhD candidate in Forensic Psychology, and a medically resigned law enforcement officer.

I worked sexual assault, crimes against children, homicide, and finance/fraud cases in Alaska as a criminal investigator. Before that, seven years on patrol and the Crime Abatement Team in DC.

I, like the 800,000 other first responders in the US, served the public bravely and often with detriment to my own personal health and safety  — until my own mental health forced a medical resignation.

The department didn't call. The system didn't follow up. The silence was deafening.

So I picked up the phone and started calling other first responders who I knew were struggling. Five words at a time:

"Hey. I've been there too. You're not alone."

That's how Badges & Breakthroughs started. Not in a boardroom. In the silence after the call.

This is our team. Every one of us has worn a badge or stood beside someone who did.

• Melanie Brower — Clinical Director. 13 years in corrections, sheriff's office, and federal law enforcement.

• George Forsythe — Advisory Director. 26-year Maryland State Trooper. Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor.

• Paige Yedinak — Badge & Bone Program Director. Nearly a decade in corrections, K9 officer, former volunteer firefighter.

• Jesika Floyd — Business Development. First responder family member who has fought vicarious trauma firsthand.

• Ace — Dual-certified service and therapy dog. Yellow Lab. Best partner I've ever had.

Here's the truth nobody wants to say out loud

• More first responders die by suicide than in the line of duty.

• PTSD rates in first responders are estimated at 30% — comparable to combat veterans.

• Most service dog programs cost $15,000–$30,000 with multi-year waitlists. We do it for around $1,000.

• Departments are on waiting lists for our training. Officers are being told to wait for help.

Every week, someone in our community almost asks for help — and then doesn't. Because the moment passes. Because they're embarrassed. Because they think they should be able to handle it.

Carry the Line exists so someone is always there when that moment comes.

Where your donation goes

100% of every dollar funds programs. Zero salaries. Zero overhead. Zero administrative fees. We are an all-volunteer team.

Your gift directly funds:

🛡 Peer Support Network — Free, confidential Thursday-night Zoom meetings, a 24/7 national peer network, and care packages for responders in crisis.

🧠 Therapy & Coaching Scholarships — Fully subsidized clinical sessions for trauma recovery, critical incident response, couples and family therapy, moral injury, EMDR, CBT, DBT, and more. No copay. No insurance hassle. No waitlist.

🎓 Agency Training & Consulting — 40-hour training packages plus a full year of consulting to build peer support programs, suicide prevention protocols, and liability-protection frameworks inside departments that can't afford it on their own.

🐕 Badge & Bone Initiative — Two missions, one heart: rescuing shelter dogs and training them as service dogs for first responders and veterans, and rehabilitating retiring K9s alongside their handlers so no working dog ends their career alone.

🎙 The Badges & Breakthroughs Podcast — First responders telling their own stories, on the record. Accountability. Education. Permission to speak.

We're a nonprofit. Your gift goes further than ever.

Badges & Breakthroughs is officially incorporated as a Maryland nonprofit with 501(c)(3) status pending. The IRS determination letter is expected to be retroactive to our incorporation date — meaning donations made now are anticipated to qualify as tax-deductible once approved.

EIN: 42-2225563

We will email every donor a receipt as soon as our determination letter is issued. (Please consult your tax advisor — we cannot guarantee the IRS timeline.)

Why this campaign matters right now

This is our first round of community funding as a nonprofit. Every dollar decides what we can say yes to next month:

• Yes to the officer in Tennessee who emailed at 2 a.m.

• Yes to the rural department that can't afford a peer support program.

• Yes to the shelter dog who still has time — and the responder waiting on the other end of that leash.

$10,000 is what it takes to keep the lights on, the meetings running, and the door open for the next person who calls.

How you can help in 60 seconds

1. Donate — even $5 changes what we can say yes to.

2. Share this link with one first responder, one family member, one friend. Sharing is free. Sharing saves lives.

3. Tag a department in the comments that needs to know we exist.

Carry the Line With Us

You know what it means to carry the line. You've done it your entire career — or you've watched someone you love do it.

Now we're asking you to carry it one more time. Not alone. Together.

If a first responder ever showed up for you, your family, or someone you love — this is how you show up for them.

Fund the programs that save the people who save others.

Make it personal. Make it matter. Carry the Line.

📍 Badges & Breakthroughs, Inc.
3419 Stonebridge Dr., Waldorf, MD 20601
🌐 badgesandbreakthroughs.com 
📧 [email protected]
📞 (818) 800-1147

Peer Support · Therapy & Coaching · Training & Consulting · Service Dogs & K9 Rehabilitation · Podcast