KANSAS CITY, Mo. — First responders rush into burning buildings, document crime scenes and assess patients in medical emergencies, risking their lives to serve and protect the public. But since the coronavirus pandemic hit, many officers accustomed to putting their own lives at risk are for the first time worried that their jobs could endanger their families.
"We're human beings. We may have a badge, we may wear the uniform, but at the end of the day we have feelings and emotions," Jonathon Westbrook, Kansas City, Kansas, public information officer, said.
Mallory Super, a training instructor with the KCK Fire Department, also is a Peer-to-Peer Support program leader. The voluntary and confidential program for KCK police and fire personnel has been around for years, but first responders are sharing their feelings with each other one-on-one at work and after work in group meetings with a clinical psychologist guiding the discussion.
"We're (first responders) dealing with the uncertainty of, 'Am I taking this (COVID-19) home? Am I taking this (COVID-19) to co-workers?'” Super said. “So anxiety absolutely has increased.”
Emergency responders wear personal protective equipment (PPE) at work and take safety precautions at home to protect their families. But the PPE gear cannot protect them from fears and frustrations like challenges at work, pressures at home with spouses and children, as well as the ordinary daily struggles of life.
"One of the unique things about this whole pandemic is the fact that we (first responders) are having to rely on each other even more," Westbrook said.
Super agreed.
"We are a team,” she said. “We're a family here at the KCK Fire Department and any of us can reach out and check in and make sure the other person is doing OK.”
Westbrook said that in the KCK Police Peer Support Program, officers are “encouraged to talk.”
“We sit in a room and we get real with our feelings,” Westbrook said. “We get real with our emotions. And being able to do that in a room with police who have been through the same experiences is beneficial.”
A number of first responders also receive training in peer support to recognize signs that their coworkers might need support and tips on how to manage concerns at home or work. Those peer-support leaders listen with an understanding, empathetic ear and also provide information about resources and strategies to approaching those problems and fears.
"And I've seen it happen where officers have been able to just take down that shield that we have to carry all day and be real, be raw, be emotional, and dump those feelings,” Westbrook said, “and we're able to surround them and give them what they need to be successful.”
Westbrook said spouses and children of first responders in the Peer-to-Peer Support Program also have access to support services. CorrectionsOne.com also has information about support services for families of first responders.
The KCK Fire Department Peer Support Program also has a Peer-to-Peer Support Facebook page for first responders and their families to connect.
Other metro area police and fire departments like Kansas City, Missouri and Lee's Summit have Peer to Peer Support or similar programs.
If you are feeling anxious or stressed since COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control COVID 19 Coping Recommendations:
*Maintaining Healthy Routines like exercising, healthy eating and restful sleep;
*Embracing Healthy Supportive Social Relationships through email, text and video chats and;
*Avoid Falling Into Negative Patterns like drinking to much alcohol, overeating and obsessively consuming news about COVID 19.