JIMMY MILLER MEMORIAL FOUNDATION

The Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation was established in 2005 to honor Jimmy Miller, an incredible waterman who focused his life around the ocean and sharing his joy of surfing with as many people as possible. Jimmy was a surfer, writer, traveler, ocean lifeguard, teacher and business owner of Pure Surfing Experience surfing school. In the summer of 2004, after a rapid onset of mental illness and a concurrent shoulder injury that kept him from surfing, Jimmy Miller committed suicide. We believe that if Jimmy would have been able to continue surfing and experiencing the healing power of the ocean, he would have won the battle against mental illness. That was…and continues to be our driving force.

The Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation (JMMF) is dedicated to helping as many people as our funding/resources allow to experience the healing power of the ocean. JMMF’s Ocean Therapy is a unique therapeutic program that couples group talk therapy with learning how to surf and experience the healing power of the ocean. JMMF literally wrote the manual for conducting ocean/surf therapy that is used by most organizations in the surf therapy field today. Buoyed by the favorable research results and inspired by Jimmy’s enduring desire to share his love of the ocean with as many people as possible, our vision and strategy includes expansion of our programming on multiple fronts:

Populations
JMMF has diversified the populations we serve through Ocean/Surf Therapy but there are many more we would like to reach. As part of our Youth Ocean Therapy Program, we currently work with eight organizations in Los Angeles that care for abused and underprivileged children, many coming from the foster care system. These children are at risk/at promise and have suffered physical, psychological and emotional abuse from domestic violence, gang warfare and other sources of trauma. We also work with survivors of suicide and children affected by cancer in their lives.

For those that served our country, our Military Ocean Therapy program serves those who have experienced trauma through conflict, sexual abuse and war. Many of our “athletes” (participants) are struggling with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), depression, anxiety, drug and alcohol abuse. We have expanded our program with the active-duty Marines in the Wounded Warrior Battalion-West at Camp Pendleton and offer Ocean/Surf Therapy sessions twice per month. Modeled on this program, we are now offering two Ocean Therapy sessions per month in partnership with the Warrior Foundation for those that are transitioning out of the military and into civilian life but are struggling to find their way in life. Additionally, we have partnered with the Veterans Village San Diego (a 150-bed in patient rehab facility) to create a pilot program for veterans suffering from alcoholism, drug addiction and homelessness.

Building on the success of our Youth and Military Ocean/Surf Therapy Programs, we launched the world’s first-ever frontline Healthcare Providers Ocean Therapy program in the summer of 2021. Similar to PTSD experienced in war, our frontline healthcare providers (doctors, nurses, etc.) were subjected to horrific conditions in the ICU and had to make unimaginable decisions as to who would live and who would die during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, these caregivers suffer from nightmares, anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation similar to our military heroes. We believe that Ocean Therapy can supplant these terrible memories with pleasant ones learning how to surf and becoming part of the surfing community.

2022 was another breakthrough year for JMMF as we partnered with the Friendship Foundation to bring ocean/surf therapy to special needs and developmentally disabled young adults. One pilot session forever changed the way we viewed surfing and ocean therapy. These amazing young adults reminded us just how joyful and healing the power of the ocean can be. We are expanding the number of sessions for special needs children, young adults and other populations on the spectrum so they can experience the joy and healing power of the ocean as well.

2024 marked another significant milestone in JMMF’s Ocean Therapy Program – the introduction of FROPOWR! It all started with a simple question from retired police captain, Tim Hageman: “Have you ever considered an Ocean Therapy program for first responders?” Like our nation’s combat veterans, by the nature of their profession and the traumatic incidents they deal with every day in their line of duty, first responders are almost guaranteed to suffer from PTSD at some point in their service. They are often the first on scene of horrific traffic accidents, murder, suicide, child abuse, domestic violence and other atrocities. Many first responders suffer from the effects of these traumatic events but many don’t want to talk about it…mostly because of the cultural stigma around mental health in law enforcement and because any form of perceived “weakness” could be career compromising or career ending. As a result, we were cautioned that first responders would likely be resistant to attend “therapy” sessions even though the need is real. In response to this, JMMF pivoted from our traditional Ocean Therapy naming and instead focused on the wellness and resiliency initiatives that are becoming more commonplace in the first responder community. We introduced FROPOWR – First Responder Oceanic Performance Optimization Wellness & Resiliency sessions! We conduct our FROPOWR sessions similar to our traditional ones but we reframe our focus on Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) and resiliency rather than Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This newest program is growing and JMMF will be adding more sessions and more locations to serve our first responders and assist them with their overall wellness.

JMMF is currently the largest provider of Ocean and Surf Therapy programming in the world. Under the initial leadership and direction of Dr. Carly Rogers, JMMF literally wrote the manual that serves as the de facto guide for conducting Ocean/Surf Therapy around the world today. JMMF has continued to refine the operations manual, implement additional safety measures and introduce new populations that have suffered from some form of mental and/or physical trauma to the healing power of the ocean.

Goals of Ocean Therapy
+Increase participant/athlete self-efficacy by providing coaching and encouragement of learning a new skill.
+Build self-confidence by ensuring success in a new and unfamiliar activity.
+Offer a healthy alternative to addiction and self-medication habits for those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) and physical and mental injuries including trauma.
+Provide the foundation for a positive outlook for those who have experienced injuries from traumatic events and stress.
+Reduce anxiety about the “unknown” and reinforce a framework for a successful transition into a safe community (for youth populations) and civilian life (for military and first responder populations).
+Build, and in some cases, re-build trust.
+For military and first responder populations, break down perceived barriers between them and civilians to demonstrate that there are communities that care deeply about their health and welfare. We also seek to reinforce that they and their service to our country and our communities have not been “forgotten” or “overlooked”.
+Reduce the stigma of talking about mental health that persists among some populations groups
+Teach basic ocean safety, conditions evaluation and beach awareness.