{"id":815246,"date":"2026-05-22T19:46:57","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T19:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/815246\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T19:46:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T19:46:57","slug":"jacksonville-community-honors-fallen-hero-with-fundraiser-for-first-responder-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/815246\/","title":{"rendered":"Jacksonville community honors fallen hero with fundraiser for first responder mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. <\/strong> \u2013 He ran toward danger for a living. <\/p>\n

As a Marine, a firefighter and a lifeguard, Garrett Opper spent his life in service to others. But like so many who dedicate themselves to protecting their communities, the battles he fought on the inside were the hardest ones of all.<\/p>\n

RELATED | \u2018You think about it every day\u2019: Brother of firefighter who died by suicide shares story to prevent future tragedies<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Opper, a Fletcher High School alumnus and Jacksonville Beach native, died in April 2022 after struggling with the mental health toll of a career defined by service. He had served three tours in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps, worked as a Driver\/Engineer with St. Johns County Fire Rescue, and spent 20 years as a lifeguard and lieutenant with Jacksonville and Atlantic Beach. He was, by all accounts, the kind of person who would always \u201cgo\u201d \u2014 no questions asked.<\/p>\n

Four years later, the community he gave so much to is making sure his story doesn\u2019t end there.<\/p>\n

St. Johns County Fire Rescue Engineer Garrett A. Opper died at his Jacksonville Beach home on Wednesday. (Provided by St. Johns County Fire Rescue)<\/p>\n

INK Factory Brewing in Jacksonville Beach has released its annual \u201cG.O. Session\u201d Hazy IPA \u2014 a specialty brew named in Opper\u2019s honor and created by his brother, Corey Opper, alongside the brewery team. This year, Farah & Farah has come on board as the official sponsor of the campaign, pledging to match community donations up to $3,000 throughout the month of May to benefit Here Tomorrow, a Neptune Beach nonprofit offering no-cost mental health support and suicide prevention services for first responders and military personnel.<\/p>\n

U.S. Marines Pfc. Garrett Opper (Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

\u201cGarrett Opper was the real deal \u2014 a Marine, a firefighter, and a lifeguard who spent every waking hour looking out for the rest of us here in Jax Beach,\u201d said Chuck Farah, senior partner at Farah & Farah. \u201cAt our firm, we believe in showing up for the people who show up for us. We\u2019re putting up this $3,000 match because no one who dedicates their life to service should ever have to walk through a dark time alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Corey Opper (right) Garrett Opper(left) (Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n

The timing is deliberate. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and the G.O. Session campaign is designed to meet first responders and veterans where they are \u2014 not in a clinical setting, but over a cold beer with their community around them. A portion of proceeds from every G.O. Session Hazy IPA, the new non-alcoholic G.O. Session Stoke Water, and custom merchandise sold at the brewery goes directly to Here Tomorrow, with Farah & Farah\u2019s match doubling every dollar raised.<\/p>\n

For the Farah brothers, Eddie and Chuck, the partnership is personal. The firm has long championed causes that protect Jacksonville\u2019s most vulnerable \u2014 and they see first responders as no exception.<\/p>\n

\u201cGarrett Opper spent his life showing up for us. Now, it\u2019s our turn to show up for people like him,\u201d Farah said. \u201cWe are proud to stand with INK Factory and Here Tomorrow to make sure our veterans and first responders know that \u2018going\u2019 also means going to get help when you need it.\u201d<\/p>\n

With just days left in May, there is still time to be part of the campaign. Readers can stop by INK Factory Brewing at 602 Shetter Ave. in Jacksonville Beach to grab a G.O. Session, try the new Stoke Water, or pick up merchandise. Donations can also be made directly to Here Tomorrow at heretomorrow.org\/donate<\/a>, and QR codes are available on-site at the brewery.<\/p>\n

For more information, visit inkfactorybrewing.com\/go-session-2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. \u2013 He ran toward danger for a living. As a Marine, a firefighter and a…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":815247,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,330993,330992,6526,3188,723,330994,330997,330995,7310,330996,517,2649,330991,5518,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,260051],"class_list":["post-815246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-america","tag-farah-farah","tag-firefighter-tribute","tag-firefighters","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-g-o-session-ipa","tag-garrett-opper","tag-ink-factory-brewing","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-beach-fundraiser","tag-mental-health","tag-mental-health-awareness","tag-military-mental-health","tag-suicide-prevention","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-veteran-support"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116619958695984615","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=815246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/815246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/815247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=815246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=815246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=815246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}