Heros Are Humans Too: Suicide Prevention and Postvention for First Responders

Suicide
Written By Steph Rupp

By Jessica Nickels, LCPC

Awhile back I was asked to speak to Fox 4 about suicide rates related to first responders. 

I thought I’d share some of my findings in this blog post. 


Some real talk...

We can’t treat suicide as a behavioral problem. If we focus on suicide as the problem, then we don’t fix the root causes. We need to recognize risk factors and provide social support for individuals and groups.

Policy and procedures need to be put in place to provide more support for health services. This includes more funding for mental health, suicide and trauma training. Paid mental health days. Prevention and education included in curriculum for new trainees. 


Human to human… 

First responders are heros. Yet, we can’t forget heros are humans too. To reduce stigma and connect with someone who is showing signs of suicide or depression we need to talk more directly on how they are feeling and listen with compassion. 

This includes being: 

  • Direct

  • Non-judgemental 

  • Calm

  • Resourceful


Let’s education ourselves in both knowing risk factors and warning signs.


Risk Factors: 

  • Current mental and/or substance use disorders

  • Bereaved by suicide

  • Engage in nonsuicidal self-injury

  • Have previous attempt to suicide

  • Have medical conditions

  • Individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ 


Warning Signs:

  • Expression of helplessness or hopelessness

  • Feeling like a burden to others

  • Changes in sleep patterns

  • Social withdrawl or isolation

  • Displaying anxious or agitated behavior or extreme mood swings

  • Increase use of substances (ie; alcohol)

Statistics:

  • In a given year, a fire department is four times more likely to experience a suicide than a line-of-duty death. - National Fallen Firefighters Foundation

  • Suicide is the fastest rising cause of death for firefighters. - CDC

  • Four-fiths of suicide victims were male (78.3%) - KDHE

  • Gathering accurate information around suicides is difficult due to the classification of deaths ie; “accidental” or “other.” - National Volunteer Fire Council Report

  • Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for ages 15-24 in state of Kansas - KDHE

Advocacy opportunity...

There is current legislation out that focuses on supporting the detection, prevention and treatment of mental health among public safety officers and for other purposes. 

Legislation: Current Bill in House of Representitives is H.R. 1646 “Helping Emergency Responders Overcome Act of 2019” or the “HERO Act of 2019.” 

https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/1646/text

Status of bill: it has been introduced, next step is passed to house then senate then president and then it becomes law.

You are not alone. There is help out there…

Resources

Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance - www.ffbha.org
*Suicide Screening form - 16 questions to assess suicide ideation and resources for next steps. 
Offer workshops for firefighters, family and helping professionals.
Suicide Reporting to gain information to help prevent further suicides. 

Code Green Campaign - codegreencampaign.org
A first responder oriented mental health advocacy and education organization. 

Learn to Pause - Mindfulness Training (FREE) - started by a local spouse of a retired first responder who committed suicide
Learn to mitigate stress, regulate emotion and improve overall health. 
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/learn-to-pausesm-mindfulness-training-for-first-responders-august-2019-registration-56668328496?aff=erelexpmlt

Resolve’s website has a list of helpful resources
https://www.kcresolve.com/websites.html

Kansas Suicide Prevention 
http://www.kansassuicideprevention.org/

The Action Alliance (resource page with free trainings)
https://theactionalliance.org/communities/workplace

Crisis Resources 

Steph Rupp https://stephrupp.com
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