When a police officer dies by suicide, there are no words.  A need to attribute causality that can never be fully satisfied.  An understanding that may never come.  Wondering… What did I miss?  What should I have seen?

A Study of Police Suicide: 2008-2012.

1. Average age: 42
2. Average years on the job: 16
3. Gender/Race: 91% white male
4. Marital Status: 61% single
5. Prior Notice: 64% a surprise event
6. Method: 90% Gunshot

“Requiescat in pace” Deputy Chief Corbett.  May you help those in need by guiding them to seek peer support.

The past two days have been sad ones for the Junior Class of Jonathan Law High School of Milford, CT. They lost their friend Laura Gonzalez unexpectedly late Wednesday afternoon. Our thoughts and prayers are with Laura’s family and friends.

Thank you to Laura’s friends and classmates in allowing us to be with you during this time.

The Kraft family and New England Patriots Charitable Foundation (NEPCF) have selected Brad Cole as a recipient of the 2015 Myra Kraft Community MVP Award.  NEPCF recognized Cole and his Therapy Dog Spartacus for their work comforting survivors after the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy and the Boston Marathon Bombings. Spartacus is a Therapy Dog registered with Pet Partners.

Cole is the Executive Director of K9 First Responders, Inc. (K9FR).  NEPCF awarded K9FR a $5,000 grant to support their mission and growth.

Pet Partners is the nation’s largest therapy animal organization.  They are the leader in demonstrating and promoting positive human-animal therapy, activities and education.

The award highlights the Patriots’ ongoing Celebrate Volunteerism initiative, which honors Myra Kraft’s lifetime commitment to volunteerism. The Patriots Charitable Foundation and members of the Kraft family reviewed all 400+ nominations from throughout New England and selected individuals who exemplified leadership, dedication and a commitment to improving their communities through volunteering.

Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft commented “It is a great opportunity to recognize people who are dedicated to making a difference in their local community. Every year we get to hear these incredibly heartwarming stories of selflessness and I know that these volunteers would make Myra very proud.”

Brad Cole said “I am humbled by this award.  Being recognized in Myra Kraft’s memory is both inspiring and a responsibility to continue to do good.”

K9 First Responder teams often respond within a framework known as “Disaster Behavioral Health Response Team.”

Teams are managed at the state level by the Program Director of Disaster Behavioral Health Services and managed locally by clinical team leaders. These teams are deployed through the state emergency management system.

Members are trained to respond to the emotional needs of disaster victims, responders, or community members in local, state, or nationally declared disasters or traumatic incidents requiring a behavioral health response.

State Crisis Coordinators have identified common team member qualities:

Energetic– have the capacity and stamina to deal with large numbers of survivors with a broad range of problems and remain active in the face of stress.

Mature– able to maintain their own identity and values while working with others.

Flexible– has the capacity to deal with changing situations, which cannot, at least be temporarily fixed.

Focused– able to figure out with the survivor what is most important at that moment and effectively address it.

Empathetic– has the ability to listen and to convey caring.

Creative– have the capacity to think on their feet, problem solve sometimes in an improvisational manner and mobilize environmental resources.

Positive– a sense of confidence, able to help survivors celebrate the small victories on the long road to recovery and possess an optimistic yet realistic view of life.

Non-traditional– able to work in a variety of environments when and where needed.

Available– able to give of one’s time and energy sufficiently to do the job.

A team player– has the capacity to become part of a synergistic team, including other community emergency response partners and work with in the incident command structure.

A self-starter– shows initiative and able to work independently while staying within the overall guidelines of the Plan.

Tolerant– of others with different values and/or from different cultures and be able to work with a diverse clientele.

Sensitive– to the needs of others and able to monitor/manage their own stress.

Function– in confusing and often chaotic environments.

Comfortable– initiating a conversation in any community setting and able to “be with” survivors who may be suffering tragedy and enormous loss.

Committed– to respect the privacy and confidentiality of survivors, not inclined to gossip.

K9FR had the opportunity to work with our response partners from WSFD, WHPD and AMR on May 27, 2015.  Just as our counterparts practice, K9FR Teams rehearse as well.  It is important to actually see the role each response partner has and the integration into an actual deployment.

Thank you to our partners for your support!

We are pleased to announce American Medical Response of CT (AMR/CT) is partnering with K9FR to provide support for their employees.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers deal with more stressors than most. Their work culture teaches them to compartmentalize and move on to the next patient… the next call. If they didn’t, no one would last long.

What happens when the stress becomes too much? When that one call “tips” the scales and compartmentalization just doesn’t work?

K9 First Responders is an option as a precursor or an adjunct to Employee Assistance Programs (EAP).  AMR has seen the benefits of this approach and offers it as an option for their employees.  We are proud to be of service.

To learn more about EMS workers stress, this report discusses in detail urban EMS issues.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430883

What steps should a school take to minimize trauma in a crisis?

Schools should consider things like – especially after a crisis – holding off on the tests.  Research shows that students’ cognitive reasoning may not be functioning at a hundred percent after an event.  So, maybe holding off on that pop quiz. Don’t force a regular day on grieving students.  For example, what we commonly see – more common than school shootings – is maybe the loss of a student or the loss of a teacher. Intervening, asking the students “What’s wrong?”, talking to them, and letting them articulate how they’re feeling and listening to them. Perhaps helping them move through the grieving process, such as writing letters, maybe doing some type of memorial that’s appropriate. Just letting the students be themselves, letting them grieve, and understanding that.  Also, reminding students that it is okay to cry, it is okay to show emotion, and support them in that.

This video clip is part of the series “Mental Health During A School Crisis“.

Michael Dorn and Sonayia Shepherd (School Safety Analysts) gives expert video advice on: What is a school “crisis intervention team”?;  What steps should a school take to minimize trauma in a crisis?;  What are some common responses after a school crisis? and more…

How can a school crisis affect students?

It can affect students greatly, and it can cause depression. It can cause students to start thinking about suicide if the situation is not handled appropriately and if crisis intervention doesn’t happen immediate. It can affect their grades. It can affect their self-esteem. It can affect how they view others around them, and that’s why effective crisis intervention is so important, because if students don’t feel like the adults, the school can take care of them, then they have a loss of trust, and a loss of trust can cause students not to even want to come to school.

This video clip is part of the series “Mental Health During A School Crisis“.

Michael Dorn and Sonayia Shepherd (School Safety Analysts) gives expert video advice on: What is a school “crisis intervention team”?;  What steps should a school take to minimize trauma in a crisis?;  What are some common responses after a school crisis? and more…

What is a school ‘crisis intervention team’?

A school crisis intervention team is a team made up of school mental health, law enforcement, school administrators, teachers as well as parents and students sometimes. It’s a team that, after a crisis is assembled, and accounts for the emotional safety of children, students and staff. What they do is go out and they provide crisis intervention, crisis debriefing; they provide services that really aid the emotional support of students.

This video clip is part of the series “Mental Health During A School Crisis“.

Michael Dorn and Sonayia Shepherd (School Safety Analysts) gives expert video advice on: What is a school “crisis intervention team”?;  What steps should a school take to minimize trauma in a crisis?;  What some common responses after a school crisis? and more…

Dogs can bring out feeling and emotions that are difficult to express.  Their unconditional presence, loving nature and comforting being provide a safe and judgment free presence. They are sometimes called “therapists”.

K9 First Responders are trained to provide a safe and judgment free atmosphere to support the healing process.

An excellent article (link) below the picture.

http://mic.com/articles/107994/science-proves-your-dog-makes-a-great-therapist