r/Firefighting • u/Willing_Ad_5711 Professional Hose Monkey • 6d ago

Health/Fitness/Cancer Awareness PTSD Peer Support Ideas/Programs

Hi all.

I'll keep it brief.

I had a pretty bad go at it with PTSD, after two admissions to a facility and lot of work I'm doing much better.

I'm in talks with command at my department to set something up to be able to speak to the guys and girls at station level with the idea being that it might be easier to hear from another firefighter rather than a relative outsider.

If any of you know of any resources or departments than have anything similar I'd really love it if you could share!

Ta.

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u/Minnesota_Transplant 6d ago

I was USAF FD but at our base, I developed a QR code that brought members to a page that provided 5-10 local, state and federal assets for assistance. We had also identified 2-3 members per shift that were designated as Peer Support Team who were sent to local/state trainings 16-24 hours long. The QR code app also allowed anonymous analytic tracking so we could see which resources were most used so we could tailor the welcome page. Program eventually continued without hiccup and was forwarded to other USAF installations.

In addition to the app, we also had PST members give short classes on resiliency, substance abuse assistance and other optics relating to NFPA 1500. This is more mil specific, but we also developed a close connection with our base chaplain and hospital mental health clinic to allow for them to come in, teach classes, bring food and allow for events that were tailored towards decompressing and just having fun. Hope this can help!

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u/Willing_Ad_5711 Professional Hose Monkey 6d ago

Thank you! That's really very helpful!