Training protects those who protect us

If you are going to take care of your family and your community, "you gotta take care of you. … You are a priority, and you are important to us." That's the message first responders will hear from Steven Click, director of first responder wellness in the Ohio Department of Public Safety's Office of Criminal Justice Services, as he leads First Responder Crisis and Self Awareness Training sessions this month and next. "Wellness is extremely important," Click said, which is why Gov. Mike DeWine's office created the Ohio Office of First Responder Wellness last year. Click previously did similar work with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, from which he retired in 2018. He then was first responder liaison to the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. His goal is for people to leave the occupation as healthy and happy as when they entered it. "It does take a toll," he said of the job of any first responder, and these programs are aimed at mitigating that toll. Click said serving as a first responder means already coming to the table with a significant amount of resilience. But now, he says, "I'm just seeing a fatigue." He said a first responder may assume they're "the only one" not sleeping, or having nightmares, or getting irritable with their family. He tells people, "You're having a normal reaction to an abnormal circumstance. … There's nothing defective about you. You're not weak." 'Suck it up' The trainings are funded through a COVID-19 response grant focused on suicide prevention in Hancock County, received from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in 2020. A key part of the grant was to assist front-line staff impacted by the pandemic, said Amber Wolfrom, suicide prevention project director for Family Resource Center. She noted that volunteer first responders might work 40 hours at their full-time job, then come home and respond to a neighbor's house fire. Sgt. Michael Cortez at the Hancock County Sheriff's Office, part of the team planning the trainings, said when he began his career 27 years ago, the standard advice was to check one's feelings at the door and not take work home. But this is "just not possible." He said it's estimated that in the first three years of their career, law enforcement officers experience more psychological trauma than those outside the field do in their entire lifetime. For years, "We have been told to all just suck it up," Cortez said. But in 2021, 150 law enforcement officers died by suicide. "It's not working," he added. Steven Hough, who is assisting with the training, said younger first responders — both male and female — tend to be more willing to discuss their mental health concerns than older ones. Hough is co-founder and chief operating officer at First H.E.L.P., which started with a mission of raising awareness of suicide among law enforcement and corrections officers. The agency has since grown to address other types of first responders including firefighters, EMTs and paramedics. The organization provides mental health training and advocates for changes in legislation. "The support is growing, but it has been slow moving," Hough said. He noted that law enforcement officers die by suicide more than they are killed in the line of duty. A 25-year veteran of the profession himself, he tells the cadets he teaches that while in many ways it is a great job, they will see things "you don't want to see." It is definitely "a hard lifestyle, not just for the officer, but for their families," he said. With that in mind, the training is open to first responders as well as their "adult loved ones," such as spouses and significant others, siblings, parents or friends. These individuals do not need to attend at the same time as the first responder. (The training is being offered in 10 time slots in order to accommodate as many people's calendars as possible, Wolfrom said.) Vital support Cortez coordinates the peer support team at the Hancock County Sheriff's Office, which provides private, confidential, one-on-one meetings. In addition to being available for sheriff's office staff, the team takes the initiative to check in with people involved in a really difficult situation, like a suicide or fatal crash. Cortez said simply having someone to talk to can make a real difference. And he said peer support is vital because it can be hard for first responders to communicate with someone not in the field. As for Cortez himself, he has found that this work "has given me a different perspective" not just on how to interact with his peers, but anyone dealing with mental health issues. Click said the trainings are in compliance with the wellness continued professional training requirement through the Ohio Peace Officers Training Council. Wolfrom said the effort has attracted a lot of support from the community. As just one example, she said six local businesses immediately offered to supply refreshments for each session. Trainings will be held at Owens Community College beginning the third week of January. For dates and times, contact Wolfrom at 567-271-3031. The registration deadline for the January trainings is Friday, while the registration deadline for the February trainings is Jan. 28. Arthurs: 419-427-8494