Essex Fire and Rescue Chief Rick Arnel, holds an All In Coin, a new mental wellness initiative launched Thursday by Essex-Windsor EMS and Essex Fire. DAX MELMER / WINDSOR STAR
Local firefighters and paramedics have a new way to start conversations about mental wellness without saying a word.
Representatives from Essex Fire and Rescue Services and Essex-Windsor EMS announced Thursday their first responders — who regularly face mentally taxing situations on the job — would soon be issued All In Coins. When produced from a firefighter or paramedic’s pocket, the symbolic coins indicate he or she needs mental wellness help and someone to listen.
“It’s the toughest conversation in the world to start,” said Rick Arnel, chief of Essex Fire and Rescue Services during a news conference. “We want to be able to begin a network where we can rely on each other.”
Arnel learned about the Canada-born and internationally reaching All In Project during the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs’ annual conference in Calgary in September. He decided to bring the idea back to Windsor and Essex County, he said, to “take care of the people who take care of the community.”
With its $8 coins, the project aims to make the “ask” for mental wellness assistance easier for first responders and for those they work with — including doctors, nurses, the clergy, and heavy machine operators. The coins also serve as tangible reminders that they are not alone.
Pictured on one side of the coin is the silhouette of a buffalo with blue water, mountains, and sky depicted inside it. Around that side’s border are the words ALL IN, GOALS, GRATITUDE, STRENGTH, and SACRIFICE. A red maple leaf centres the coin’s opposite face and is surrounded by the word “help” in dozens of languages. The border on that side reads I CAN IDENTIFY CONDITIONS, ACTIONS, NEEDS.
Arnel said the weight on first responders is “not just what we see every day.” Rather, he said, it’s the combination “of everything you do. Life in general is not an easy task anymore.”
Essex-Windsor EMS Chief Bruce Krauter said purchasing the All In Coins for his staff “was a no-brainer” when Arnel put forward the idea.
“It’s not that it’s the cure. It’s not that it’s the end-all-be-all,” Krauter said. “It’s just one more tool for first responders…for whoever goes out and works with us when we respond on a daily basis.”
Krauter challenged other emergency services across the region to “jump on board and join the family” by issuing workers All In Coins. Leamington Fire Services has already put in an order for coins to Project All In.
It would be great, Krauter said, if a paramedic could slide the coin across a table to a firefighter and have both know exactly what it represented.
For about two years, Krauter has offered Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) training to EMS employees. Canada’s Department of National Defence designed the program to train individuals in the Canadian Armed Forces on mental resilience and recovery. Next week, Essex-Windsor EMS will hold another R2MR training session for first responders and hospital staff from across Ontario.
Peer support training will also be offered.
“We’re hoping with all the training, with the coin, with peer support and the ongoing communication through media outlets, that we reduce the stigma,” Krauter said.
Essex County Warden Gary McNamara said he is the brother of a first responder, father of another and son-in-law of a third. He called the All In Project a great way for them to know “somebody’s got their backs.”
“Bad calls come with the territory when you’re a first responder, and over time that creates a culture of silence,” McNamara said.
“We’ve made some tremendous strides when it comes to changing the conversation and the attitudes around mental health, but there’s still much work today,” he added.
“There’s still a stigma attached to mental wellness issues, particularly when it comes to first responders who are so focused on helping others — on many occasions they forget about the importance of taking care of themselves.”
Individuals and organizations can learn more about Project All In and purchase All In Coins at projectallin.ca.
Link to original article on windsorstar.com: New initiative encourages first responders to talk mental health