Resources
Local & National Resources
This resource page is by no means exhaustive of all national resources and ever changing.
If you are just starting a chaplain program, in need of policies suggestions or just in need of support for your existing chaplain program please reach out to us through the contact page on this website. Or you could also email us at: alechaplains@gmail.com for assistance. We will be glad to help support you and your chaplain program.
Hotlines
- COPLINE: 1-800-267-5463 (24/7 hotline)
- Firefighter/Family Crisis and Support Line: 1-844-525-3473
- Suicide Lifeline: 1-800-273 TALK (8255)
- Veterans Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255, Press 1 OR Text to 838255
Law Enforcement
Answering the Call was founded in 2015 to aid and support all First Responders in a time of crisis. This 501 (c) (3) was established to link community support to local first responders during a difficult time. Answering the Call is a source of not only financial aid and assistance, but as community awareness and support to first responders and their families.
Police 1 Article on Wellness Programs
Many police agencies have specialized groups of peer volunteers trained to provide support to officers after critical calls. Peer team members provide critical incident debriefings, address family needs, notify family members of employee deaths, and provide support during and after stressful events. But most of what officers do during their careers falls outside the scope of post-critical care. Employee wellness programs can help bridge that gap.
Badge of Life – Psychological Survival for Police Officers
We are a group of active and retired police officers, medical professionals and surviving families of suicides from the United States and Canada. The cornerstone of our Badge of Life program is an entirely new approach to suicide prevention, called the “Emotional Self-Care Program” (ESC).
The Battle Within is a 501 (c) (3) committed to breaking down barriers and providing all Veterans and First Responders the mental and behavioral health support they need by providing a safe space for First Responders and Veterans to experience an awakening: to walk in freedom, to live lives of authentic, deep connection in your community, to maintain healthy relationships at home, and in the workplace.
Code 9 – Officer Needs Assistance
Those affiliated with Code 9 are developing and producing a documentary on law enforcement officers suffering from PTSD, to be released in the near future.
Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS)
Each year, between 140 and 160 officers are killed in the line of duty and their families and co-workers are left to cope with the tragic loss. C.O.P.S. provides resources to help them rebuild their shattered lives. There is no membership fee to join C.O.P.S., for the price paid is already too high.
Post Incident Stress & Trauma in Law Enforcement (PISTLE)
PISTLE is a non-profit organization created by current and former law enforcement officers with the help of a mental health professional. Its purpose is to help officers cope with and recover from PTSD, and the stigma so often associated with officers who have experienced traumatic events.
Survivors of Blue Suicide Foundation, Inc. (SBS) addresses the emotional and psychological needs, that arise from the loss of a loved one by suicide in the law enforcement profession. The family and co-workers of any active law enforcement officer or officer retired for one (1) year or less who has died by suicide in the United States and its territories may use the services of SBS.
Blue Wall Institute is a nationally recognized, veteran/first-responder owned business with over a decade of serving our front line workers. We improve quality of life for those we serve, by reducing injury and death on and off-duty.
House of Shields provides free housing for police officers from around the world and their immediate family, as they seek treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.
Fire
Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance
The mission of Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance is to collaborate, develop and implement behavioral health awareness, prevention, intervention, and post crisis strategies to provide firefighters with an easily accessible and confidential source of information.
First Responder’s Children Foundation
First Responders Children’s Foundation provides financial support to children who have lost a parent in the line of duty as well as families enduring significant financial hardship due to tragic circumstances. First Responders Children’s Foundation also supports, promotes, and facilitates educational activities and programs created and operated by first responder organizations whose purpose is to benefit children or the community at large.
Yoga for First Responders mission is to provide first responders and military personnel with traditional yoga training that is culturally informed and job specific for the purposes of effectively processing stress, building resilience, and enhancing performance.
Corrections
Desert Waters Correctional Outreach
DWCO came into being to address the well-being of corrections staff. Corrections staff work in particularly challenging environments and are exposed to repeated high stress experiences, such as those involving violence, injury, and death. If not countered by effective health maintenance and coping strategies, the circumstances take a cumulative toll on health, functioning, and spirit over time.
Communications (Dispatchers)
National Emergency Number Association (NENA)
In 2013, a suggested standard for the management of acute, traumatic and chronic stress issues experienced by 9-1-1 professionals was developed by subject matter experts throughout the country. In preparation for the emotional fallout of NextGen 9-1-1, to include texting to 9-1-1 and live streaming videos into Comm Centers, this standard suggests what agencies should do to prepare for and manage their 9-1-1 professional’s experiences before and after traumatic events, to include peer support, access to counseling, and evidence based trauma intervention techniques.
Families
The purpose of this Web Site is to provide Law Enforcement families and underserved law enforcement communities with essential psychological information and improved access to family support services.
Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program
The purpose of this Web Site is to provide death and education benefits to survivors of fallen law enforcement officers, firefighters, and other first responders, and disability benefits to officers catastrophically injured in the line of duty.
Clinical Supports
National Volunteer Fire Council
Emergency responders and their families face unique challenges that can have a significant impact on behavioral health, and it is important that they have access to providers that understand this. The providers listed in this directory are behavioral health professionals vetted by the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance (FBHA).
A Trauma Recovery Network (TRN) is a collaboration of emergency response volunteer mental health clinicians bringing quality and evidence based mental health care to those affected by man-made and natural community disasters. EMDR services are provided pro bono.
Other Supports and Services
Treatment Centers for first responders:
- Valor – active military only, including national guard) (816) 691-5103
- Rosecrance Florian Program – Trauma and/or substance use treatment (first responders and military) (844) 711-5106
- West Coast Post Trauma Retreat – Trauma related 6 day clinician/peer run, intense treatment program (first responders) (415) 721-9789
- Maryland Center for Excellence – Trauma and/or substance use treatment for IAFF members (firefighters only) (877-290-7523)
Addiction Center is not a specific treatment facility, but rather a free web information guide that connects addicts and their families with the help they need to put their lives together.
Links for all First Responders and or Military Members
1st Help gives first responders easy, quick access to organizations that can assist them with a range of problems related to their jobs.
EMDR Institute (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences. Repeated studies show that by using EMDR people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference.
International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Inc.
The mission of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Inc. is to provide leadership, education, training, consultation, and support services in comprehensive crisis intervention and disaster behavioral health services to the emergency response professions, other organizations, and communities worldwide.
National Guard Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program
“No one should embark on a deployment or see a loved one deploy without first knowing the benefits, resources, and contacts to navigate the deployment cycle.” This is the philosophy of the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, a legislatively mandated program that helps Service Members and their Families in the National Guard connect with their local support community before, during, and after deployments.
The On-Site Academy is a non-profit residential treatment and training center for critical incident stress management. It serves first responders in distress. The program is for all law enforcement, fire service, EMS, or other human service personnel who are themselves temporarily overwhelmed by the stress of their jobs, what they have seen, and what they have been through.
PeerSupportCentral.com was created for the sole purpose of providing resource information at the fingertips of Public Safety & Military professionals, along with advancing the field of peer support knowledge and methodology. This site is dedicated to our friends and colleagues who we lost along the way, and for those who survived life’s traumas to grow and care for the care takers of the globe.
The First Responders Foundation provides counseling services for first responders dealing with acute trauma, trauma, PTSD, anxiety, relationship, family issues, etc.