mark roake
Most people outside of the field of emergency services go through life appreciating the work of first responders, but perhaps it’s because these men and women go out every day and develop the skills necessary to fight crime and combat. You have no idea how much work it takes. Prevent fires and save lives.
In northwest Indiana, such behind-the-scenes work has increasingly taken place since 2016 at a large emergency services training facility in Valparaiso run by the nonprofit Multi-Agency Academic Cooperative (MAAC) Foundation.
Among the many tools available to first responders at this state-of-the-art campus are a 7,000-square-foot indoor training area, three 45-person classrooms, a tactical building, a four-story training tower, and a live barn. there is. Buildings, flashover trainers, residential training facilities, vehicle rescue areas, virtual reality simulators and numerous props.
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Since 2017, MAAC facilities have provided more than 200,000 hours of direct training to a wide range of local fire and law enforcement personnel, ranging from hazardous materials techniques and propane fires to K-12 units and SWAT teams. A variety of classes are conducted, ranging from leadership training sessions. For commanders.
However, despite the abundance of scenario-based resources that help first responders hone their physical skills, there is less focus on the extreme mental and emotional demands that come with these high-pressure jobs. Is not … This is what Serena, her MAAC President and CEO, says. Weatherwax wants to see change.
“There is so much skills training that we offer, but so few behavioral and mental health programs available,” she explains. “Increasingly, I heard from people who are trained here that they were faced with such demanding demands on the job that some of them ended up asking for help themselves. We were seeing it more often and felt it was our responsibility at MAAC to provide that kind of support and training.”
To accomplish this goal, MAAC has created a mental health committee, added programs and is working to build a trained clinician population to support this effort, Weatherwax said. This programming is spearheaded by MacKenna Schon, her director of programming for MAAC.
A great example of a program in this area is “Post-Taumatic Purpose,” a half-day first responder mental wellness leadership course scheduled for March 14 at Ivy Tech Auditorium in Valparaiso.
The presentation was headlined by Marine Corps veteran, former police officer, and firefighter Travis Howes, who shared some of the traumatic events he has experienced throughout his career and offered real-world advice for living with the aftermath of those incidents. provide.
We also provide tips on how to deal with burnout, lack of empathy, loss of motivation and other emotions that arise from working in emergency services, and how to recognize the signs of post-traumatic stress and deal with a diagnosis. I will also explain.
“I have survived the darkest valleys of PTSD,” Howes says. “By sharing my story, I hope to light the way for others who are still struggling. Our experiences shape us, but whether we let them define us or not. is our choice. I turned my trauma into purpose and encourage others to do the same.”
Weatherwax hopes Howes’ workshop is just one of many mental health-focused programs that MAAC plans to add to its calendar, and that becoming a first responder is a step up the ladder. We recognize that there’s more to it than just climbing or handling firearms.
“This is an opportunity to support first responders as whole people, rather than just focusing on the physical aspects of the job.”
