As the people who often bear the brunt on the front lines of disaster, first responders can struggle to deal with the impact. In recent years, more awareness of the mental health of first responders and their families has come to the forefront with new programs and funding meant to address these issues.
Stepping Forward is an initiative at the Pegasus Therapeutic Riding Academy in Northeast Philadelphia designed to help the children of first responders deal with the uncertainty and questions that they have surrounding their parents’ occupation. “The stress we’re worried about, more specifically, is the child watching me walk out the door,” Tommy McKiernan, a trustee and peer support counselor at the Philadelphia Firefighters and Paramedics Union Local 22, told the PA Post. “And my spouse probably understands it more, but the children realize that there’s a possibility that I might not come home.”
In Saskatchewan, the aftermath of the Humboldt Broncos bus crash that killed 15 members, friends and family of a local junior league team, left many first responders shaken. The province recently announced $250,000 to fund the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s support programs and train critical incident and peer support teams for first responder mental health and addictions services, according to the Saskatoon Star Phonenix. “I was thankful that so many people knew we would be needing help,” advanced care paramedic Jessica Brost told the Star Phoenix . But it’s those smaller events that aren’t so much in the media that really do affect people, especially in rural communities. No one knows you need help. Where do you turn to?”
Sources:
https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/province-invests-250000-for-first-responder-mental-health
https://papost.org/2019/05/07/kids-of-first-responders-find-calm-security-in-the-company-of-horses/
