CINCINNATI (WXIX) – The Cincinnati Fire Department hopes its new peer support program lessens the mental health burden of its firefighters.
Joseph Elliott, a Cincinnati firefighter, has worked as the department’s health and wellness coordinator for the last two years. He said the ordinary day-to-day work of a first responder puts them in positions that stress their mental health.
“You’re going to see things that you’re not supposed to see,” Elliott said. “It’s all about how you adapt and overcome that.”
Mental health issues among firefighters aren’t new, but first responders are dying at higher rates of suicide than they are in the line of duty. Elliott said in 2023 more than 10 first responders died by suicide in Southwest Ohio.
He said the peer support program would help firefighters notice issues in their ranks and help broach tough conversations.
“You notice after a bad run,” Elliott said. “They’re keeping to their bunk room or they’re staying down in the basement. They’re staying in the TV room and just not being themselves. We have to have those tough conversations, especially with runs that involve kids. Those are obviously always extremely hard.”
Elliott said he’s had his own tough calls, one involving a six-year-old girl who was shot during a drive-by shooting.
“She was actually riding her bike,” Elliott said. “Dad was teaching her how to ride her bike. We got there, we resuscitated her and all I could think about was my own daughter because my daughter was 6. We just taught her how to ride a bike.”
The night of the West-End shooting in November, Elliott said there were peer supporters at the firehouses that responded.
“Letting them know, obviously we understand you made a unique run?” Elliott said. “It’s one thing to make a kid shooting, a pediatric shooting in your career,” Elliott said. “But I can tell you right now you don’t make five kids in one night very often at all.”
Elliott said stresses from home and family life can also be problems for firefighters. To help, the department will receive a therapy dog on Monday.
See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2024 WXIX. All rights reserved.