Nonprofit seeks donations for first responder suicide prevention

A mental health nonprofit is raising funds for a suicide-prevention course benefiting first responders in the Lakes Region and North Country at an axe-throwing event next month.

Responder Strong New Hampshire focuses on the mental health of first responders around the state and across disciplines.

As part of their prevention efforts, the Lakes Region Critical Incident Stress Management team is hosting a fundraiser at Climaxe Throwing in Belmont on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, with a goal to raise $6,000 to pay for 25 seats at a first responder-oriented suicide prevention training.

Management teams are made up of first responders or former first responders and in some cases clinicians, who can offer emotional and peer support to responders dealing with mental health strain.

One of the primary methods the organization uses to help responders is debriefing, or breaking down a stressful incident play by play in order to facilitate healthy processing.

“I had no debriefings my whole career and it all built up. And then I finally had a career-ending call,” said team member and former firefighter Don Musial. “My first year on the job, one of the firefighters committed suicide on my shift. So I was there in the same boat 25 years later wanting to commit suicide.”

The mental stress built up, pushing Musial toward drug and alcohol misuse and nearly destroying his life. Despite his torment, Musial considers himself lucky, because he was able to seek professional help.

“I didn't even know what was going on, and when they finally diagnosed me with the PTSI, I was like, 'I thought only military guys got it,' and no, any individual can get it,” he said. PTSI, or post-traumatic stress injury, is a newer term that refers to the same symptoms as post-traumatic stress disorder, commonly know as PTSD.

Now, Musial volunteers his time to keep other fellow responders from a similar experience.

“I understand what it does to individuals,” Musial said. “I understand what it does to the family and the co-workers around you, and I want to get out there and help prevent people from getting to that point where they have to go to the therapist.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, first responders are at much higher risk for developing mental health problems, including suicide, than the general population.

The CDC states that police officers and firefighters are more likely to die by suicide than on the job. Medics and other emergency medical professionals are “1.39 times more likely to die by suicide than the public,” while 17% to 24% of emergency communications professionals such as dispatchers have symptoms of PTSD.

“When we talk about a critical incident, we think that it has to be a terrorist attack on the Twin Towers or it has to be a mass shooting,” explained team member Mike MacFadzen, who is currently the head of the county’s restorative justice department. “It’s the day-to-day stressors particularly this time of year.”

MacFadzen cited daily incidents like domestic abuse calls, especially ones with injuries, as particularly grating to the resolve of first responders. Combine that with a difficult work schedule and difficulties balancing family life, and you have a recipe for higher than normal mental health risks.

Due to the stigma of seeking mental health treatment in the first responder community, MacFadzen and other team members highlighted the importance of peer-to-peer support.

“It's not therapy. It's someone to touch base with a couple times and get resources because there's prevention,” explained team leader and clinician Aimee Lamont. “You don't have to have post-traumatic stress. Most people are helped at this level with these guys, and then the peer supporters also have resources for clinical support if needed.”

The event at Climaxe Throwing on Saturday, Jan. 14, is from 2 to 6 p.m. Community members can also donate via Cash App at $responderstrongnh or mail donations to Responder Strong New Hampshire, P.O. Box 293, Bristol, NH 03222.