Many of of us have faced a time of great trauma in our lives. Maybe you were in a serious car accident or perhaps you were a victim of a violent crime. Now imagine having to deal with those things multiple times a day. That's what our first responders do for a living.

Last month, two Houston police officers took their own lives, highlighting the increasing need for mental health support for our Police, fire and other first responders.

Words can't even begin to describe a horrific scene in Youngstown from 2018. Five children perished in a fire one cold December night. Their ages: 9, 3, 2 and 1 year old twins.
Just hearing the news can bring tears to your eyes. But what about the men and women who must respond to these tragedies?

"When you see other people who are concerned about their loved one. You see death a lot. people dying on you or you get there and they've already passed. Those are the things you see just every shift," said Mike Smith, an Austintown firefighter.  

MIke is also a trainer for the critical incident stress management team in Mahoning and Trumbull counties. The team is called CISM, for short.

"Usually for first responders it's not that first time, it's the build up over years and there's the one thing that triggers it and that's when they need the help," Mike added.

"Our first responders are not robots they have emotions. They have families that they go home to," said Katie Cretella, Director of clinical service at Trumbull Co. Mental Health and Recovery board.

CISM allows first responders to meet and talk to peers about the traumatic events they have experienced.

It normalizes the process and let's them know it's ok if something bothers them or if they are struggling after a certain event.

"Getting together with other peers and talking to other peers who have also gone through that process, that's very powerful! It helps an individual feel like 'this is ok that I am experiencing this right now. I am going to be ok and I am going to get back to work," Said Michelle Werth, clinical service director at Mahoning Co. Mental Health and Recovery board.

"Anybody can reach out to the Mah. Co. mental health and recovery board or the Trum. Co. mental health and recovery board or they can contact 2-1-1 and request to talk to someone from the CISM team. Then we would work to figure out what their needs are. Whether they need to speak with a peer, a mental health professional or if we need to refer them to one of our agencies who is experienced in working with first responders," said Cretella.

If your spouse or significant other is a first responder and you can tell they are struggling and they show changes in sleep, appetite or mood, encourage them to contact the CISM team.