Firefighter Life Safety Initiative #13:
Firefighters and their families must have access to counseling and psychological support.
The Behavioral Health team is currently working on a few projects to support this initiative.
In the fall, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, in partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina, will be launching PocketPeer.org which offers information on suicide awareness and prevention. The mobile website also offers videos to assist in training. The website is best viewed on a mobile device but it is not a downloadable application. It is currently live and can be bookmarked on your mobile device for easy access.
Also coming this fall is a podcast series focused on different aspects of Firefighter Life Safety Initiative #13. These brief podcasts will be available for download on a media partner’s website as well as NFFF’s website. The goal is to expose listeners to resources available when encountering stressor events either personally or with a fellow firefighter or family member.
Later this year, the Behavioral Health team will begin working on a Behavioral Health Management Guide. This guide will offer fire departments information on various options for supporting their members’ behavioral health. It will offer tips on creating a peer support team, a family support team, working with Employee Assistance Programs, seeking partnerships by collaborating with regional and state resources and case studies of successful behavioral health programs from various departments.
For more information on any of these upcoming projects or on Firefighter Life Safety Initiative #13, please contact Amy Tippett.
