Kanawha County first responders complete critical incident stress management training

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — You may know that your local police officers, firefighters, or EMTs are the toughest people in your community. But like everyone else, their mental health is a crucial part of their livelihood.

“This is what extends our careers. If they want to continue to see more paramedics, more firefighters, more EMTs, more police officers, this is what is needed,” Clayton Young said.

Young is one of the Kanawha County Ambulance Authority's dispatchers, but has been a first responder since he was 16. In his decades of experience, he has seen many things that most people can't imagine. But with the help of critical incident stress training, he is able to overcome mental health issues and continue to serve his community.

“Every time I take this class, I learn something new and remember something I may have forgotten. As with anything, if you don't use it, you lose it,” Young said.

Critical Incident Stress Management training aims to eliminate the potential negative impact of a serious accident or incident. Wednesday's session used peer-to-peer training, providing a more comfortable environment for first responders to talk about their problems.

Captain David Hodges has been a Brother in Blue for over 20 years and stressed the importance of his colleague's well-being.

“There's a lot of focus right now around the world on the safety and well-being of first responders,” Hodges said. “We're implementing that here in Kanawha County with the City of Charleston Fire Department and also the Kanawha County Ambulance Authority. The well-being of our employees and our first responders is our top priority. We want to be able to provide them with all of those resources.”

A 2018 report by the Ruderman Family Foundation found that paramedics, firefighters and police officers suffered more frequently from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal thoughts, and died more often by suicide than in the line of duty. These problems have long been ignored by emergency responders themselves.

“Many years ago, these resources didn't exist. Many of us grew up with the mindset that we can get through anything, but we have to put that behind us,” explains Hodges.

Just last month, Kanawha County lost paramedic Kori White to suicide. Hodges stressed how important resources are to the Kanawha County community.

“We had a first responder suicide here in the valley that got a lot of immediate attention, and we want to prevent cases like that from happening,” Hodges told Eyewitness News. “We want to be able to provide our employees with the resources they need, and we don't want them to use those in crisis situations. We want them to use those resources to promote their overall well-being and get regular mental health checks.”

This session will continue over the next two days in Charleston as local first responders learn healthy mental practices to cope with the ups and downs of their demanding job.

“This will impact the entire county. There are 11 agencies that are affected that are here today,” Young said. “They may work here for their careers, but they may be volunteering elsewhere or working in other disciplines. That's the goal, to one day, particularly in Kanawha County, to put together a regional team that will help everyone we can.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, call the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.