The tactics, equipment, and training used by first responders to keep the public safe has evolved over the past couple generations. What hasn’t evolved as fast is the way firefighters and police officers handle the emotional weight of what they experience on the job.
Abington Fire Fighter Rich Smith says the old “suck it up” approach to dealing with on-the-job trauma too often resulted in substance abuse or rocky home lives. While that’s starting to change, according to Smith, it remains a work in progress.
To help advance the conversation, Smith and the Plymouth County Critical Incident Stress Management Team is bringing in Travis Howze, a nationally recognized motivational speaker who talks about his journey battling PTSD.
The event, which is being held at the Abington High School Auditorium Saturday morning, has been sold out for months, with about 750 first responders from around New England expected to attend, according to Smith.
Howze, who will be joined on stage by his wife, calls his seminar “Post Traumatic Purpose: An Empowering Course on Leadership and Mental Health.”
“We’re trying to continue this conversation about mental health and well being,” he said. “It’s about finding a healthy way to move forward. And although they may never forget what happens, they learn how to handle it better than in the past.”
Howze, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps who also worked as a police officer, was a firefighter in Charleston, South Carolina when a deadly blaze killed nine firefighters in 2007. During his shows, Howze talks about his struggles with trauma, depression, and alcoholism, while giving “a realistic view of the mental health epidemic that plagues our first responders and their families.” according to his website.
Smith said he first recognized the collective trauma he was carrying around while teaching his daughter how to drive.
“We’d drive around town and get to an intersection that seemed relatively harmless, and I’d share some of the things that I’d seen at those intersections,” Smith said. “It puts in perspective all those [memories and feelings] that come back.”
Studies have consistently found that substance abuse rates in first responders are higher than those found in the general public.
“[The Plymouth County Critical Incident Stress Management Team] is working on a tagline along the lines of ‘Who does 9-1-1 call for help?’ Because there’s really nobody we can reach out to other than our peers,” said Smith.
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