Armor Up! A Weekly Series

CEO Joseph Hunter, M.A. - Cycles of Change

Safe Call Now was off to Palmdale, CA this week to visit with Cycles of Change and met with an incredible staff.  What struck me immediately was their CEO Joseph Hunter, M.A. and his view on life, how he prepares his staff and how that translates to providing the most outstanding services to our first responders and their family members.  What really sets them apart is their ability to focus on healing the entire family and not just the impacted client.  He’s right, if the whole system isn’t treated it will break down again.  Their unique multiple modalities of treatment demonstrates to me that they’re not a “one size fits all” type of therapy and that the individual is truly placed first.  Clinical staff relates to clients on a “human” level which is a special gift in this arena.  They have dedicated facilities specific for first responders in California and have an office in Las Vegas as well.

Cycles of Change in conjunction with Safe Call Now offers a "FREE FAMILY PROGRAM" for first responders as well. Stress. Anxiety. Fear. Helplessness. Anger. Combine these emotions with mounting expenses related to property damage, legal trouble and hospital bills, and it’s easy to understand why family members often begin to feel hostile or resentful toward their loved ones.

“We believe that the family suffers just as much as the person that is affected. One of the things that sets us apart is that we are very family focused – we concentrate on getting the whole entire family to recover".

For more information call Darcy Yurek at: 661-902-8005 or email her at dyurek@cocrehab.com

Safe Call Now also launched in Partnership with Rosecrance its “Teen Program” this week.  This is a gap in the healthcare system that’s been overlooked for far too long.  Let's get honest after recent events, sometimes our children struggle. Whether it be with anxiety, depression, PTSD, substance abuse or complex issues they can suffer just like the rest of us. They don't have to as we have a program specifically designed for their needs ages 13-20. Our children deserve this help. For more info and immediate help call:

Lisa Primm at 815-529-3907 or email her at lprimm@roscrance.org
 
Safe Call Now officially accepted and is #honored to be presenting at the Annual NAWLEE (National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives) Conference and LAWPOA Symposium in Los Angeles, CA on August 3^rd, 2018 to the finest members of the international law enforcement community. 

Off to Topeka, Kansas to Keynote at the Kansas Narcotics Officers Association Conference

#ArmorUp

Peer Support & Vicarious Traumatization

By Sgt. Christopher Scallon - Institute for Responder Wellness

Originally posted 5/23/16 on the International Association of Chief’s of Police blog 

Law enforcement has found itself adrift within the “perfect storm” of public mistrust, increasingly violent encounters, and the one-dimensional social media soapbox. The struggle to maintain our bearing, for the purposes of establishing some semblance of order and trust amidst such disdain is taking its toll. The vast majority of law enforcement professionals are just that…professional. It is because of these professionals that I am honored to be a part of an internal system tasked with addressing the inherent exposure to trauma by officers experienced on all fronts; peer support.

As a trauma survivor of a deadly force encounter, I can attest to the need for peer support. At the time, no formalized peer support unit existed for me to utilize. However, friends and a strong wife (also in law enforcement) helped me to find my way again. It was during my shooting review board that a respected supervisor pulled me aside and assured me that I would recover and I would eventually use my personal experience to help others.

Challenge Accepted!!! 
The next few years were dedicated to obtaining the academic qualifications, certifications, and revisiting my experiences with the new eyes of a trauma-informed professional. I became a peer for several non-profit organizations and reached out to anyone I knew was involved in a critical incident. Unfortunately, my greatest opposition to providing help was the stigma associated with asking for it. It was clear, I needed to become a champion for change by sharing my uncensored experiences. I requested to teach a block of instruction for all new recruits titled, “Survival Mindset: Preparing for and Learning to Survive Trauma.” Pleasantly surprised, I was met with an overwhelming interest and acceptance of the concepts. A single class evolved into a sought-after presentation to surrounding police academies, and eventually around the country.

2,650 Miles for #1stresponder Suicide Prevention

Safe Call Now's Julie Wimmer

The Excursion. Pacific Crest Trail.

“Amplifying Mental Health Awareness for First Responders.”

2,650 miles is more than just a number. It’s a commitment. Safe Call Now’s Marketing Director, Julie Wimmer, will set out to hike the 2,650 mile thru-hike on the Pacific Crest Trail commencing mid-April 2017, with an expected finish date of August - September 2017. This CrowdRise Fundraiser is designed to bring awareness to those first responders out there who are suffering in silence. 

“We’re Counting because they Count.”

In 2016, here are the sobering statistics of our #1stresponders in/out of uniform...

• 140 police officers were killed in line-of-duty deaths
• 98 Verified Police Suicides
• 94 Verified Firefighter Suicides
• 34 Verified EMS Suicides
• 28 Verified Corrections Suicides
• 4 Verified Dispatch Suicides

*Keep in mind, there are many more that go unreported.

When first responders took an oath to become a public safety servant, they respectfully put their uniform and badge on to serve one purpose – to protect and serve their community and although they knew there would be consequences, they had no idea they would become a target to so many. In 2016, 140 officers were killed in the line of duty. This is a travesty. Things can go wrong at any time in their job. Every day they have to be ready for the unexpected because they never know what’s coming. One moment it can be something dangerous, something tragic. Something that makes them question everything they thought they knew. And right after that, they may find themselves in a situation helping someone, saving someone. That’s the job. The amazing and the inhumane – side by side.

This elite hike is dedicated to our first responders who put their lives on the line every day to protect their communities. Please help me in this endeavor, by supporting this worthy cause. All proceeds will go directly to Safe Call Now® to help fund their 24-hour crisis line, resources and training and education nationwide.

Safe Call Now®, established in 2009, is a non-profit organization designed to offer nationwide, comprehensive crisis referral services for all public safety employees and their family members. Established and managed by public safety officials, Safe Call Now® recognizes firsthand the stressors first responders encounter and offers a broad array of training, as well as a confidential 24/7 crisis hotline staffed by current and former public safety employees.

To Donate:  Click here 

For #1stresponders... Is It Burnout or Depression???

By Safe Call Now's Dr. Laura Brodie Ph.D.

Something that is not recognized by many in the civilian world is that our First Responders as a whole are more psychologically healthy than the general population at the time of hiring. How can I say this?  Well, very few careers require the psychological screening and assessment that First Responders have to pass in order to obtain their job.  In doing such a screening, the hope is to protect the public from someone who is unsafe, but the hidden benefit is to hopefully protect the individual doing the job from many of the psychological disorders that can develop from this type of work.  So, if we use the premise that First Responders are more psychologically healthy than their civilian counterpart, why are we seeing the psychological problems we are seeing within First Responders?   Problems like substance abuse, high divorce rates and suicide?  Theoretically, this should not be happening, but it is rampant. Why?

Mental health professionals are very familiar with issues such as depression and have many tools in their therapeutic toolbox to help. What they are not nearly as educated in understanding is the environment of the First Responder and the issue of burnout.  Research has shown that the leading cause of stress in First Responders is not the day to day rescues and arrests they perform.  Those chores are why the individual signed up to do the job and there is clear understanding of those tasks through the academies and ongoing training.  What is not spoken of is the organizational stress that is killing First Responders. Yes, it’s the slow, ongoing, and constant organizational stress that is doing more damage to our First Responders than any other factor within the job.  As a professor, I have chaired several dissertations that have shown this stress and the gradual breakdown of the individual does not depend on the age, sex or rank of the individual. It appears that the seven-year mark is where the stress can eventually become the most significant issue for the individual and coping breaks down.

Organizational stress is from the departments and the fall out from the public. It is the gradual wearing down of the individual in all the tasks that have to be done to cover one’s posterior through paperwork, to handle the misconceptions and accusations of the media and public and the management of troops when management classes and courses are not offered as a way to help the individual learn how to manage.  Moving up the ranks many times is based on how one does the First Responder job, not how one manages people. These are two different tasks and require a different set of people skills. Both the manager and those below are set up to fail in system that does not allow the training of management of personnel to be as important as the training to fire a weapon, put out a fire or rescue a trapped person. It is set up to fail. 

The Cop, Trauma and our Children...

By Safe Call Now's Deputy Shawn Thomas

We all have childhood trauma of some sort.  As parents we try to raise our children to the best of our abilities.  We never try to create trauma but unfortunately we do.  It can be caused by things we do in their presence like repeatedly argue, drink a little too much, or onetime events that scar their mind forever.  If you stop and think of early childhood memories, what are they?  Sure you might remember Disneyland but I guarantee you remember slamming your finger in the car door, the mean babysitter, or the time you did something bad and got the belt.  My point is we never want to cause trauma for our children, but by being a law enforcement officer it is inevitable.  

Due to the recent police shootings in Dallas and Baton Rouge I was posed a question by one of my friends.  She asked me how the boys are feeling since you and your husband are deputies.  Well, I answered it for my boys not even thinking about how they truly feel.  Being a kid of a deputy myself I should know, right?  Absolutely not!  We all handle life and circumstances differently.  I assumed that they are fine and realize that every day we put our uniforms on and go to work that not coming home is a risk a law enforcement officer takes, which made me think to myself: WTF!!!  What other profession does that to their children and why should they have to feel that way?  Sure my mission is to be safe and come home every night but I can tell you, so was the Dallas and Baton Rouge officers.  So when my kids watch the heart breaking funeral for our extended family in blue, you can’t tell me for one minute that doesn’t create anxiety and trauma in their lives.

So how do I fix it?  Quit?  No, that’s not an option at my age.  Tell them suck it up buttercup, it is what it is?  No, I do the best I know how and communicate with my children about why I choose to be a deputy.   There is nothing wrong with conversing with our children about why we choose to be an officer of the law and why we continue to do the duties we do.  From day one I have always told my boys when I step out that door to go to work, when I’m not with you I am always in your hearts.  So go home safely, hug them, love them and help them understand the thin blue line!