{"id":860659,"date":"2025-07-06T23:13:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T04:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/06\/campaign-to-raise-awareness-for-first-responder-mental-health-across-canada\/"},"modified":"2025-07-06T23:13:07","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T04:13:07","slug":"campaign-to-raise-awareness-for-first-responder-mental-health-across-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/06\/campaign-to-raise-awareness-for-first-responder-mental-health-across-canada\/","title":{"rendered":"Campaign to raise awareness for first responder mental health across Canada"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Posted May 2, 2025 9:33 pm<\/span><\/p>\n

Updated May 2, 2025 9:34 pm<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tA rehabilitation group in Kelowna is sounding the alarm on inadequate care for first responders dealing with psychological injuries. Victoria Femia has more on the emotional challenges plaguing Canada’s emergency workers. \u2013 May 2, 2025<\/span>
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They run toward what the rest of us run from \u2014 gunfire, flames, and unspeakable tragedy.<\/p>\n

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For Canada\u2019s first responders<\/a>, witnessing the unthinkable is part of the job. But what\u2019s often unseen is what they carry with them long after the sirens fade.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey ask, \u2018Are you OK?\u2019\u201d says retired RCMP officer Jonathan Williams. \u201cAnd I always said, \u2018Of course I\u2019m good.\u2019 Because whatever I just came from\u2026 was worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams served 14 years in the RCMP. He describes his time on the force as meaningful \u2014 but behind the uniform was a growing weight he could no longer ignore.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFor me, it was years and years of seeing so much,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s not normal, but you get used to it. And then it just started eroding me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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What followed was a battle with depression and PTSD \u2014 invisible injuries that eventually led him to seek help.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe recovery program was everything,\u201d Williams explains. \u201cIt allowed me to get to a safe place \u2014 not just physically, but mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n

That program is run by Diversified Rehabilitation Group, a Kelowna-based organization offering specialized support for trauma-exposed first responders. This month, they\u2019re spearheading an online awareness campaign called Sounding the Alarm to shed light on what many suffer in silence.<\/p>\n