top of page

FIRST RESPONDER
MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT NETWORK
Hope Is Where the Heart Is
Making a Difference: "Thank you for having this program. Our community just last week lost a county deputy to suicide (one of my good friends). I am going to share this as I was a fire fighter/first responder who also saw first hand the mental toll these jobs take on us." Becky Rudnicky
minimal title
A survey among First Responders, of more than 4,000 who were surveyed, 6.6% had attempted suicide which is ten times the rate of the general public.
Officer suicides took more lives than gunfire and traffic accidents combined in 2016.
More than 1/3 of First Responders are affected by PTSD.
First Responders suffer from an increased divorce rate.
Substance abuse in First Responders is approximately 10 percent, or double the national average.
Suicide and addiction occur at a staggering rate among first responders and military members, due to post-traumatic stress disorder, coupled with a gaping hole in accessible, appropriate mental health care and a stigma that keeps many of them from seeking help ~Navy veteran Eric Golnick.
“Responding to devastating scenes takes a toll on you mentally and psychologically….Still, the first responder culture doesn’t promote talking about trauma with colleagues. It really affected me — I couldn’t sleep,” Robert Williams, program manager at the Paramus clinic and a former emergency medical services technician in East Orange.

SOCIAL HUB
802-695-0228
bottom of page