First Responders Sound Alarm [Highlands Current]

Feb 19

Guardian Revival CEO Aaron Leonard was interviewed for an article in The Highlands Current about a recent statewide survey of 6,000 first responders that highlights the mental health challenges faced by police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and emergency dispatchers:

94% citing stress
90% reporting burnout and anxiety
16% experiencing suicidal thoughts

Many hesitate to seek help due to stigma and career concerns — something that Guardian Revival actively works to change, both in terms of fighting the stigma and actively helping our guardians towards improved mental health & well-being.

Aaron (who is also a Cold Spring Fire Co. lieutenant) emphasized the importance of peer support, sharing his own experiences with trauma. Another firefighter quoted in the article mentioned the support he received through our Peer Services Division as making an impact in feeling less alone.

[A]n inaugural statewide survey of 6,000 emergency personnel, including 900 from the Mid-Hudson region, that asked about their mental health. Released on Feb. 5, the report is a collaboration between the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, the Institute for Disaster Mental Health and the Benjamin Center for Public Policy Initiatives at SUNY New Paltz.
Of the police officers, firefighters, paramedics, emergency dispatchers and emergency managers surveyed, 94 percent cited stress as a challenge and nine out of 10 mentioned burnout and anxiety. A majority also reported stress from traumatic events such as shootings and accidents (56 percent) and suffering symptoms of depression (53 percent). Another 40 percent experienced symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and 16 percent thought of suicide.
Being exposed to constant trauma “can destroy relationships, it can destroy families, it can destroy that person,” said Aaron Leonard, a lieutenant with the Cold Spring Fire Co. and the newly appointed CEO of Guardian Revival, a Beacon organization that provides services for veterans and first responders, including peer counseling.
“I have had my own experiences of sitting at my house having dinner, and then five minutes later, I’m doing CPR, the person passes away and you just go back home,” he said. “Where do you unpack that experience?”
The list of barriers that prevent first responders from getting help is long, with about 80 percent citing the stigmas surrounding mental health and concerns that colleagues will deem them unreliable. Others worried that seeking help would impact their career or cause supervisors to treat them differently (74 percent), or lead to losing their firearms license (68 percent).
“It used to be, push that stuff down,” said Brewer, whose 43-year firefighting career includes 25 years as a volunteer. “You were a lesser firefighter if you talked about that.”
Brewer was “circling the drain” before a 45-minute phone call with a peer counselor at Guardian Revival helped him understand that he did everything possible to save his friend.
He has also attended a Guardian Revival workshop where veterans and first responders congregate around a campfire to talk about stressors. “Sometimes you go, ‘Wow, I’m not alone,’” said Brewer. “Sometimes you go, ‘I’m not that messed up.’ ”