It's not really something to cross our minds, but it absolutely should be. If you have ever been a patient who needed the help and care of our first responders, the best thing that you could ever do is take the time to find out who took your call, what Police department, Fire Department, Crisis response unit, EMT cared for you. These people hear, hold and respond to the worst of the worst day in and out, over and over every shift and rarely do they get the closure that they need. In the times that I have talked about this part of our mission, I have heard "They chose this career". They did. That's all the more reason to give them the respect that they deserve.
37% of first responders attempt will attempt suicide. They are 10 times more likely than a non first responder to attempt to take their own life. 50% of Firefighter deaths are due to PTSD related actions, stress and extreme exhaustion. For full statistics please go to my "Raising Addi" blog and read the post "Normalize closure for our first responders"
Information gathered from :
https://helpforourheroes.com/first-responders-and-mental-health-issues
http://www.revivingresponders.com/originalpaper
We can help! Tracking your dispatch operator, Crisis response team, Police and EMT crew can be overwhelming and it can also be emotional. That is all normal and completely okay! If you don't know where to start, contact us and we can help you out! This is closure that you ALL need!