Project Resilience 911 promotes wellness among first responders

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This article was published 26/01/2022 (1557 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A committee of first responders and frontline workers continues to promote conversations about positive mental health through Project Resilience 911.

Launched in 2020, Project Resilience 911 offers support to all first responders, frontline workers and their families in the Brandon and Westman areas.

“Our focus is promoting first-responder and frontline mental health, and it’s been established in an effort to share resources, initiatives, funding and training opportunities between all frontline workers and agencies in our area,” said chairperson and Brandon Police Service Const. Amanda Conway.

The project was born out of Conway’s experience with the Brandon Police Service Employee Wellness Team and collaborations with other agencies looking to help create a more robust peer and mental health support system in Westman.

Conway decided the experiences of Brandon Police Service members could be applicable to the backgrounds of other first responders, but noted these incidents are not something that can be universally shared.

“We are all in the same fields, but they’re different. I decided I would start something that is multi-agency, where we could all kind of come to the table, share ideas and take stuff back to our own organizations,” Conway said.

She began recruiting people from other agencies to join the team and was eventually able to bring in members from essentially every first-responder or frontline worker agency in the area.

Project Resilience allows them to share ideas and host fundraisers for events like the Bell Let’s Talk Day, accredited peer support training and a wellness seminar in the fall or the upcoming First Responder/Frontline Mental Health Fundraiser Road Race in May.

Since its inception Project Resilience has been able to expand its reach in the Brandon area. Conway said it started off with Brandon Police Service, Brandon Fire and Emergency, RCMP, the Canadian Armed Forces out of CFB Shilo and correction team members. It has grown to include Manitoba First Nations, Rivers Police, nurses and dispatch members.

“It’s really taken off, everyone has an interest in it. It’s been very much supported by the agencies that have representatives within the project,” Conway said.

She added Project Resilience has also implemented a critical incident response team that can offer stress debriefing, peer support to other agencies after a crisis and other actions in support of positive mental health after a trauma.

Peer support is essential because it brings together people that have shared experiences when it comes to maintaining mental health, having post-traumatic stress disorder or experiencing trauma. Peers can learn empathy and gain positive connections through these shared experiences.

“We deal with a lot of trauma. A typical average person in their lifetime experiences one and a half to three critical incidences, and a first responder is over 800, probably [closer to] a thousand if you look at it over a 25- to 30-year career,” Conway said. “We’re dealing with trauma every day, and being able to understand and have the peer support piece is vital.”

There can still be a stigma when it comes to talking about mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder, Conway said, even though first responders are three-and-a-half to five times more likely to deal with a mental health crisis compared to the average population.

Project Resilience responds to this phenomenon and takes active steps to normalize dialogue about mental health, she said, bringing it to the forefront and removing the barriers people experience when they are struggling with maintaining their mental health and wellness.

“A big piece of this is connection. Getting out there and connecting and promoting to the community, as well, that this is an issue that we’re are facing as first responders,” Conway said. “If we’re not healthy then our communities aren’t healthy. We need to be healthy in order to serve our communities to our best abilities.”

She added creating awareness among first responders and frontline workers through Project Resilience remains critical.

People can identify warning signs because it is a cumulative experience of trauma. Conway said members can reach a point where they have experienced a critical incident and all of the trauma that has built over a career can result in languishing mental health or a post-traumatic stress injury.

“It’s complex, and it’s more complex for the first responders than it is for the general public,” Conway said. “Hopefully when you start sliding down the hill, you’ll notice it before it gets to the point that it’s out of control.”

The third annual Project Resilience First Responder/Frontline Mental Health Fundraiser Road Race, taking place on May 14 at 10 a.m., features a half-marathon where participants have the option to run 21 kilometres alone, participate in a four-person relay or bike the length of the half-marathon.

Participants will depart from the Brandon Police Service parking lot and race past the majority of agencies involved with Project Resiliency 911 in town during the half-marathon.

The event raises funds for promotional events and training organized through Project Resilience.

Register by visiting pr911.weekly.com or by contacting projectresilience911@gmail.com.

The race is open to first responders, frontline workers and the general public. Conway added the organization also welcomes donations, including prizes for the run.

Early bird prices are available until April 3 with a minimum donation of $75 per individual or $275 per team. After April 3 it is $100 per individual and $350 per team. Participants will receive a T-shirt, challenge coin and refreshments.

“It’s open to anyone who wants to participate,” Conway said.

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