How a Moore business owner is helping fellow veterans this Memorial Day

Folds of the Flame Foundation is a mission fueled by honor and country that focuses on first-responder suicide awareness, prevention, and postvention. 

Ashontay Owens, a United States Air Force Veteran, has seen firsthand the impact battles Veterans and first responders go through daily. Owens served as a firefighter in the Air Force for 20 years and retired as fire chief in 2021, he said he's experienced more than 100 suicides in his career.

“The Folds of the Flame really focuses on awareness, prevention, and post-vention," Owens said "Post-vention being unfortunately it does happen so what are we going to do to help those families after the fact, and the best thing that I can do is, if a person dies by suicide, we provide the immediacy of services for them, maybe we help them with some utility bills, maybe we help them with some food stipends or something like that.”

Owens lived and continues to live by the motto: "everyone comes home safe", a motto he practices daily as a therapist to talk and work with other Veterans and first responders through their silent battles.

“Families often have times things that they have to pay for, you know somebody happens to have passed away from suicide, a lot of those times those insurance companies are not going to pay out, so the Fold of the Flame sends a step up to help you with a cash stipend and then also to help with resource and referral so that we can help with the aftermath of that tragedy,” Owens said.

A few statistics according to the Folds of the Flame website: 8% of firefighters had suicidal thoughts or ideas, 5% of firefighters made a suicidal attempt, and 2% of firefighters made plans to commit suicide.

The Folds of the Flame recently partnered with the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association.

Owens is also the owner of The Crimson Melt, a gourmet and grilled cheese restaurant in Moore that is a first-responder-themed establishment.