The summit was open to all first responders, school personnel, and community leaders in the area.
ST. MARYS, OHIO (WLIO) - Law enforcement, firefighters, and EMS are all called into action during the worst of situations, but who helps them deal with it afterwards?
That was one of the topics covered during the Active Shooter Preparedness and Response Summit at St. Marys High School on Saturday. The summit was open to all first responders, school personnel, and community leaders in the area. Some of the sessions dealt with the importance of mental health, especially after something traumatic happens to someone in the public or someone in their own department. First responders are sometimes focused on helping others and forget about getting help themselves.
Some of the sessions dealt with the importance of mental health, especially after something traumatic happens to someone in the public or someone in their own department.
“We are issued a ton of equipment, whether we are in law enforcement, the fire service, EMS. We are issued equipment that helps us do our jobs; unfortunately, we are not issued new bodies that are able to cope and deal with trauma better than what someone that isn’t in one of these positions can do. So, we are definitely wanting to just provide awareness to fire responders out there to make sure they know its OK to not be OK and there are resources and help out there for them,” says Lt. Molly Harris, Ohio State Highway Patrol.
While first responders are focused on helping others during a traumatic incident, they also need to remember to follow up with each other when it is over.
Ohio has developed a lot of resources for law enforcement, fire, and emergency personnel to help them deal with tragic events that they handle while on their job in a healthy way.
“So many of us are operational at the time the incident is happening. We are focused on taking care of the scene, taking care of the victims, making sure the folks are notified, and keeping everybody safe. Then afterwards, after things settle down and the dust starts to settle, that’s when we think about what we have dealt with, what we have seen, what we have smelled, what we have heard. So that follow-up is extremely important to making sure that we are taking care of ourselves long-term,” says Steve Click, Dir. of 1st Responder Wellness for the Ohio Dept. of Public Safety.
Ohio has developed a lot of resources for law enforcement, fire, and emergency personnel to help them deal with tragic events that they handle while on their job in a healthy way, so they can continue to do their job and go home to their families.
