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When Livingston County Deputy Sheriff Roger Lynch, 51, was killed in a shootout on June 2, the sheriff's department and the community was left in a state of shock.

Yet within 18 hours of the shooting, representatives from a Louisville-based organization called Supporting Heroes arrived on the scene to help Lynch's family with their loss. Lynch's wife immediately was given a $3,000 check, a pledge for future help and an offer to plan a tribute and funeral.

For the western Kentucky sheriff's department that had seven officers before Lynch's death, the assistance was a welcomed surprise.

"I never even knew the organization existed," said Livingston Sheriff Tommy Williams. "It just takes a big load off of the victim's family."

Supporting Heroes paid for Lynch's casket and planned a tribute and funeral that included police cruisers, bagpipers and horse and motorcycle units.

More than 700 people attended the funeral.

The mission of Supporting Heroes is to provide support, both monetary and in other ways, to the families of police, fire and EMS members who die in the line of duty in Kentucky and Indiana.

"If a person regularly risks their life for the community - and in most cases for people they don't even know - and then ultimately gives their life for the community, then the community should give something back to them and take care of the loved ones they left behind," said Eric Johnson, executive director and founder of Supporting Heroes.

Since being founded on Sept. 11, 2004, the organization has helped 10 families that have lost loved ones in the line of duty.

Eight of those families received a $3,000 "emergency funds" check, said Johnson, who is a retired Louisville Metro Police sergeant.

Supporting Heroes is a nonprofit organization with an eight-person board. Its primary source of funds is memberships, and it currently has about 800 members - 500 of whom are Louisville Metro Police officers.

One of those members was Officer Peter Grignon.

When Grignon was killed in Louisville in the line of duty on March 23, Supporting Heroes gave his widow, Rebecca Grignon, a check for $3,000 on the same day.

While Grignon said she wasn't concerned about money in the midst of the tragedy, the gift let her know that someone "was looking out" for her.

"It was almost like Peter was still taking care of me through them," she said.

Supporting Heroes helped plan Grignon's funeral, which was attended by 1,000 police officers and law enforcement officials, and included a procession that stretched for miles to Cave Hill Cemetery.

Rebecca Grignon added that Supporting Heroes later had a security system installed in her home.

Since Supporting Heroes is only nine months old, Johnson said that most of its focus has been on providing emergency funds for families, but eventually the organization wants to offer more long-term support such as tuition assistance for the children of fallen police, fire and EMS.

The goal is to provide the family what the loved one would have wanted to provide and to show their children that "what their fallen parent lived and died for was important," said Johnson.

The general public may join Supporting Heroes for $120 a year, and Johnson said that it offers a way for the community to show that they support active members of police, fire and EMS before tragedy strikes.

While monuments and memorials to fallen police, fire and EMS members are nice, there is more that can be done, said Johnson.

"Truly the best way to honor their service and sacrifice is to take care of the people they leave behind."

For more information, visit supportingheroes.org or call 585-2282.