Jessica Roza // Canyon Grant // Socialmark Giving

The Grand Canyon is one of the most awe-inspiring places in the world, yet for many, especially those who have served, it can feel out of reach.

I am applying for this grant as part of a personal milestone, celebrating over five years of sobriety. What began as a goal to simply make it through the next day has become a sustained commitment to healing, growth, and rebuilding my life after trauma.

I don’t want to celebrate that milestone alone.

I want to bring a small group of women veterans from my peer support community, West Valley Women Veterans, to experience the Grand Canyon with me as part of our continued healing journey together. Many of the women in this group are navigating the invisible wounds of service, including military sexual trauma, domestic violence, substance use recovery, and the challenges of reintegration.

I am one of them.

Through this community, I have seen firsthand that healing does not happen in isolation. It happens in safe spaces, in shared understanding, and in environments that allow us to pause, reflect, and reconnect.

For many of these women, the Grand Canyon is something they have never experienced, despite living in Arizona. Barriers such as financial constraints, mental health challenges, and lack of access to supportive environments have made it difficult to prioritize experiences like this.

This would be more than a trip. It would be an opportunity to mark how far we have come, individually and together.

Standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon offers a kind of perspective that words cannot fully capture. It creates space to breathe, to reflect, and to release. For women who have carried so much, this experience offers a moment to feel grounded, present, and connected again.

Our intention is to create a shared experience rooted in connection, reflection, and storytelling. Whether through quiet moments overlooking the canyon, a group walk, or simply being in community in a place that feels bigger than our struggles, this experience will allow us to continue moving forward in our healing.

We also plan to create space for each woman to write while we are there, whether through journaling or poetry. Writing has been a powerful tool in our healing, and this setting offers a rare opportunity to capture what this experience means in real time. These reflections will help us process the moment and carry it forward long after we leave.

As part of this opportunity, we will share our experience through storytelling, helping to elevate the voices of women veterans whose stories are often overlooked. We hope to show that healing is possible, that community matters, and that even in the hardest journeys, there are moments of beauty and renewal.

The Grand Canyon is in our backyard. This grant would make it accessible to those of us who need it most, at a moment that means everything.