The emergency services PTSD organization Boots on the Ground is looking for some volunteers.
Sharon Bak is the new Northern Operations Manager for the 24/7 peer support service for first responders. She tells us they need volunteers so northern emergency responders can talk to them about the difficulties of their job.
According to Bak, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union did two tours of communities in the north last year and it resulted in increased discussion on the mental health needs of the region’s first responders. The organization is using this recruitment drive to also remind local residents that this service is available to them.
So far the organization has six volunteers from Kenora, Thunder Bay, Fort Frances and Greenstone, however, at least ten are needed for the north. Bak adds they will be fundraising in the future to bring a counselling trainer from southern Ontario to our region to help educate the volunteers.
Bak adds the north is complex and the capacity for mental health services is more limited.
