When soldiers return home from service or police officers retire from the force, they're often left with a profound emptiness, which can lead to dark consequences. That's what inspired Tim Harry to create Severance Security, where veterans can find new meaning in helping keep others safe.
An expert marksman since he was a teenager, Harry joined 1819 News CEO Bryan Dawson on a recent episode of "1819 News: The Podcast" to explain how he founded his security firm and share other stories from his work in rescuing children from human trafficking.
"Severance Security was something that I thought of when, in 2016, we started becoming aware of the 22 suicides a day in our veterans that was coming home that couldn't find a place or purpose," Harry said. "There was an industry executive protection that's bigger in larger cities, and we felt like we could tap into that and create purpose for our veterans."
Harry said his security teams protect a variety of clients, from condominiums to high-level CEOs and pop stars.
"A lot of people you see, the news anchors, corporate executives, owners of large estates, the TikTok famous, these people are walking around, and it looks like they have an entourage when they have two or three people with them," he said. "And sometimes those are executive protection agents."
In addition to veteran suicides, another startling fact that pushed Harry to start his security business was the number of mass shootings going on around the country — roughly 374 in 2016. He said often, a veteran lived in the vicinity of the shootings who could have potentially prevented them from happening or lessened the damage if his business had been around at that time.
"It was more days than we had in a year, active shooter or mass shooter situations," Harry said. "And within a mile of that radius, there was a veteran that could have done something about it because we've tested their fight or flight. We've sent them to war. They know what they're doing. There was a veteran that could have made a difference that was sitting there not filling any purpose. So I kind of put those together and said, if we could do this, this could be the schools, all the travesties that happened, we could help protect some of these people."
Harry now employs over 100 veterans and former law enforcement officers. He also helps run the Children's Rescue Initiative which has helped rescue 2,400 children in the last 15 years, Harry said.
To connect with the story's author or comment, email daniel.taylor@1819news.com or find him on X and Facebook.
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