First Responders Support Network When “Everything is NOT okay”

By Kathleen Reynolds

Police officers, firefighters and healthcare workers witness unimaginable scenes of injury, sickness and death. What happens to these frontline workers when they are overwhelmed by the debilitating impact of critical incident stress?

Help is available through the First Responders Support Network (FRSN), where passionate and dedicated individuals run the West Coast Post-trauma Retreat (WCPR) and the Significant Other and Spouse (SOS) program. The WCPR, SOS, training, consultations and outreach make up the FRSN. 

According to their website (frsn.org): “Since 2001, WCPR has helped…first responders at their California location (near Angwin) and in satellite locations in Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Kansas, Nebraska, and Indiana. The SOS program continues to grow as more and more significant others and spouses reach out for help, education, healing, and support. FRSN training programs continue to expand the peer and clinician base available to help the first responder community both nationally and internationally.”

FRSN Board of Directors President, Nathan Schlitz, is a disability retired police officer from the Mesa Police Department in Arizona, where he was a police officer and gang detective for 12 years. 

“I first heard about FRSP after an experience in 2009 when my squad was involved in a critical incident in pursuit of an aggravated assault suspect,” says Nathan, who has lived in Napa since 2018. “I was forced to shoot a driver to stop him from running my partner over. What no one knew was that his 15-year-old cousin was in the backseat of his car. Unfortunately, one of my rounds hit and killed her. It was an instant shift for me into Post Traumatic Stress symptoms. I felt isolation, depression, insomnia—a lot of the stuff that comes with a traumatic injury.”

“I was on administrative leave and started seeing the department psychologist. At the time our department chief was George Gascn, the current Los Angeles District Attorney. He was very supportive in getting officers mental health support when they needed it and offered to send me through the FRSN West Coast Post Trauma-retreat program. I attended four or five months after the incident. It saved my life.”

Per the website: “Each FRSN retreat is a unique, immersive experience helping first responders process their traumatic incidents. Six first responder clients are supported in healing by up to 25 volunteers over six days, and usually long after the retreat has ended. Peers who have attended as clients come back again and again, to help their fellow first responders and to support their own ongoing recovery.”

“Through intensive debriefing and peer support, first responders at the WCPR work through traumatic experiences, learn to understand their reactions, and develop skills to deal with painful memories and new critical incidents. They leave the retreat more able to cope with difficult emotions and recognize triggers and respond positively.”

Nathan explains further, “The clients, our staff and volunteers stay there for the whole week. It’s a good combination of clinical support with trained, culturally competent clinicians as well as peer support from current and retired first responders who have been through the program themselves and go back to volunteer and help. The clients get a wide variety of modality of treatment.”

The SOS program for significant others and spouses of first responders has the same make up as the retreat.

“We find the family goes through the traumatic stress just like the first responder,” says Nathan. “Often the spouses are left with similar symptoms, thoughts and experiences as the first responder. Some of the education and the therapy modalities are a little different, but for the most part, we’ve found that having the spouse go through the (SOS) program helps them and can help their relationship too.”

Nathan has an answer to skeptics about the mental trauma first responders experience.

“Although the perception is better today than it was 15 years ago. I think that the public often forgets that police officers or firefighters are human just like everyone else. When we go through these traumatic events, it’s going to affect us. It’s important for us to take care of ourselves and it’s important for us to get the mental health care that we need to do those first responder jobs successfully and in a healthy manner.”

“I’ve heard, “It’s what you get paid to do.” Even if an officer is shot, you might hear, “That’s what they’re there for.” I take exception to those statements. That’s not why police officers and firefighters are there. It shouldn’t be expected of us to get injured or lose our lives. We’re there to help. Often people see first responders on the worst day of their lives and so it’s very important for the public to know that we need help just like everyone else.”

The organization has seen over 2000 clients and has an approximately 97% success rate.

How do they measure success?

“One of the phrases we always use is that it’s not about going back to work, it’s about going back to life,” Nathan says. “A success story for me is when I’m there volunteering and we have a client who’s really struggling. We help get them through the week and then they come back in a year or two as a volunteer, giving back. It’s such an amazing feeling to know that we’ve made a difference in that life, in their family life. It’s like the butterfly effect. Everyone they touch can get the help that they need. It’s fulfilling to see volunteers coming back and using their experiences to do good. It happens more times than I can count.”

“I judge success by people who are doing the work; they’re getting therapy, they’re continuing to volunteer,” says Nathan. “It doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve returned to work because for some people, going back to work might not be the right answer.”

“The most important thing for people to know is that this program saves lives. To do that at times we need the generosity and understanding of the public. It’s important to know that first responders need our support. They’re all human, they all feel and they’re going to struggle with things just like everyone else. It’s important to know that there’s a place out there that can help, that can offer the mental health support that the people doing those jobs need.”

Nathan closes by quoting a man he calls his “role model,” Sir Nicholas Winton, who saved hundreds of Jewish children from the Nazis in World War II, “We should always strive to do the next right thing.”

The FRSN relies heavily on fundraisers and donations. To help with scholarships that help pay to send first responders to the retreat, please see the donations tab on their website, FRSN.ORG