CASTLETON, Vt. (WCAX) – A week after devastating flooding struck Vermont for the second time in two years, first responders who waded through waters are now navigating many emotions. An event in Castleton aimed to put their mental health on the front burner.
Smashing away the stigma and spreading the message that it’s OK for first responders to let their emotions out.
A week after floodwaters poured through Vermont many first responders who were helping communities are now left with the emotions they had to endure.
“There were so many traumatic events that happened the weeks before the conference and it was just so vital to offer that space, get a reprieve from the day in and day out, just have that chance to come down from all that,” said Emily Leinoff of the Vermont Emergency Service Providers Wellness Commission.
The First Responder Wellness Conference started after the floods last July.
Mike Cancellieri is the executive director of Front Line Foundations, working with first responders and veterans for their mental health.
“Dealing with the flooding and all the stuff that you wouldn’t even think about happens in a situation like that, carrying any of the things that these people deal with should probably not be carried alone,” Cancellieri said.
The conference invited members of fire, EMS and police departments from around the state to learn how to mitigate risks that come up after emergencies through two days of workshops and wellness sessions, hoping to show that it’s OK to express their emotions.
“We’re putting so much of our time and energy into helping them that we forget about ourselves,” Leinoff said.
“Especially for first responders, they’re often discouraged from showing emotions and they’re often told to just suck it up,” said Linda Olson of the Castleton University Center for Social Justice and Trauma Informed Care.
Olson is a professor at Castleton and says that professionals being able to step away from their crucial work is just as important as what they do to save lives.
“Work is really important but so is having a healthy life outside of work, so that work-life balance is really important. So, if we can do that in the workplace, if we can do that in individuals, then we can actually make people a lot healthier and happier,” Olson said.
Olson says the university’s CASTLETON, Vt. (WCAX) – A week after devastating flooding struck Vermont for the second time in two years, first responders who waded through waters are now navigating many emotions. An event in Castleton aimed to put their mental health on the front burner.
Smashing away the stigma and spreading the message that it’s OK for first responders to let their emotions out.
A week after floodwaters poured through Vermont many first responders who were helping communities are now left with the emotions they had to endure.
“There were so many traumatic events that happened the weeks before the conference and it was just so vital to offer that space, get a reprieve from the day in and day out, just have that chance to come down from all that,” said Emily Leinoff of the Vermont Emergency Service Providers Wellness Commission.
The First Responder Wellness Conference started after the floods last July.
Mike Cancellieri is the executive director of Front Line Foundations, working with first responders and veterans for their mental health.
“Dealing with the flooding and all the stuff that you wouldn’t even think about happens in a situation like that, carrying any of the things that these people deal with should probably not be carried alone,” Cancellieri said.
The conference invited members of fire, EMS and police departments from around the state to learn how to mitigate risks that come up after emergencies through two days of workshops and wellness sessions, hoping to show that it’s OK to express their emotions.
“We’re putting so much of our time and energy into helping them that we forget about ourselves,” Leinoff said.
“Especially for first responders, they’re often discouraged from showing emotions and they’re often told to just suck it up,” said Linda Olson of the Castleton University Center for Social Justice and Trauma Informed Care.
Olson is a professor at Castleton and says that professionals being able to step away from their crucial work is just as important as what they do to save lives.
“Work is really important but so is having a healthy life outside of work, so that work-life balance is really important. So, if we can do that in the workplace, if we can do that in individuals, then we can actually make people a lot healthier and happier,” Olson said.
Olson says the university’s Center for Social Justice and Trauma Informed Care is expected to host similar conference for other professions in the future.
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