We are replaying this episode for some of our new listeners. In this episode we speak with first responder spouses, who are suicide loss survivors. They share with us what its like to love a first responder, how the job impacted their loved one & how that impacted their family. These woman showcase strength as they discuss loosing their husbands to…

Mike MacCurtain joins us to discuss his career in the fire service. He shares about how that career began, the comradery and sense of belonging he felt early on, and how the calls he would go on didn't seem to bother him. Like we have heard from so many others, those calls were adding up, even if Mike wasn't aware of it at the time, and eventually …

Kenny Mitchell joins us & shares his story of purpose, service, struggle, and healing. Kenny was inspired to service after the terror attacks of 9/11, he talks openly about the strength of that calling, and how it ultimately led him to the fire service. Kenny talks about his career as a Firefighter & the many roles he had, which included critical i…

Anthony Landry serves on the board of directors for the Massachusetts Peer Support Network & his efforts were instrumental in helping to create the first Peer Support and Crisis Intervention Team comprised of 911 emergency dispatchers in Ma. Tony shares with us about his family history in first response, why he wanted to become one himself, and why…

Christopher Scallon is a retired LEO who had a 24 year career with the Norfolk Va Police Department. He holds degrees in psychology, criminal justice, and is certified in critical incident stress management. He currently serves as a Veterans representative, he is the founder of Survival Mindset training and consulting, and co-founder of Trauma Behi…

On this episode were joined by Charlette Fenstermaker & Lauren Folloni of the LOSS Team Plymouth County. The LOSS Team Plymouth County was founded in 2021 - and after 2 years of preparation, launched in January of 2023. They are a volunteer group that works with police departments across Plymouth County to bring Hope and support to suicide loss sur…

On this episode we're joined by Alicia Kelly & Chuck Looney, who own and operate Stretch N Motion, an assisted stretch and massage studio where they aim to maximize mobility, decrease pain, and help their clients feel better. Alicia & Chuck brought 2 of those clients with them, Brian Mingolelli (Quincy FD) & Chris Huling (Wildland FF), who share th…

Jess Flores joins us on the podcast. Jess shares with us about her career as a police officer, she talks about working for different departments, the departmental cultures regarding first responder mental health, being a woman in law enforcement, the communities she served, and some of the critical incidents she was involved in. Jess's career ended…

On this weeks episode we are joined by a group of First Responders from Carver Ma who have joined together, combining efforts and agencies to ensure that their First Responder Family is taken care of. Chief Michael Ryan (EMS), Adam Lauzon (Carver FD), and Joshua Mcdermott (Carver PD), have partnered together to develop a multi agency First Responde…

Cathy & Javier Bustos are retired police officers with 4 decades of experience, they are also husband and wife, and they are That Peer Support Couple. They join us on the podcast and share about their careers in law enforcement, some of the critical incidents they have been involved in, & how those incidents affected them individually and as a coup…

On this weeks episode we have Selina Rossman. Selina has been working EMS for nearly 2 decades. She discusses what led her into the field, some of the more difficult calls she has been on, & how those calls affected her. Selina shares that at one point her life became so difficult she considered ending it - She also shares with us what kept her her…

On this episode we host the Volunteers of America's Mass Bay Vet's Center (MBVC). We're joined by Angela Eberle & Kyle Palstrome of the MBVC staff - they explain how the program functions, what supports and resources are available for their veteran residents, and some details about an exciting new program opening up in Plymouth. We're also joined b…

Adam joins us on the podcast and shares how he was drawn to police work from an early age, he discusses his time serving in the Army's MP Corps, getting his dream job as a cop in the town where he lived, his career in law enforcement and the many positions he's held over the years. Adam also shares with us how he quickly became desensitized to dead…

Donn Bradley joins us from California , we discuss the work he does as a mental health clinician for first responders. He shares with us about his prior career in law enforcement and the mental health challenges he experienced as a result of duty trauma. Donn also shares with us his own reluctance to get help when he was struggling, how those types…

Bernice joins us and shares her story of becoming a police officer and how she came to pride herself on her ability to engage with and support the community. Bernice was passionate, and her first few years on the department were promising - but then something changed, and depression began to set in. Listen to this episode to hear how Bernice naviga…

State Representative Steven Xiarhos joins us on the podcast and shares about his 40 years working in law enforcement. He also talks about his childhood, and discusses grief & loss - including the loss of his son Nicholas who was serving in Afghanistan & the LODD of Officer Sean Gannon. Rep X also shares about the importance of departmental leadersh…

Donn Bradley joins us from California , we discuss the work he does as a mental health clinician for first responders. He shares with us about his prior career in law enforcement and the mental health challenges he experienced as a result of duty trauma. Donn also shares with us his own reluctance to get help when he was struggling, how those types…

Reverend Royce Raymond joins us & shares about his time as an Army Chaplin & as a prison Chaplin. We discuss life in the military, and in the prison system, along with duty, grief, friendship, mentorship, peer support, and chaplaincy. Reverend Royce discusses dealing with loss and grief in his own life, he talks about his upbringing, his family, hi…

Chief Matt Shobert has over 30 years of experience in the fire service, which includes working as a Chief in both California & Arizona. Chief Shobert shares with us about his upbringing, a family history of substance abuse, how he wanted better for himself, and how living a life of service to others as a firefighter changed his life for the better.…

Autumn Clifford joins us on the podcast and shares about her lifelong journey with martial arts, her career in law enforcement, the pain and isolation she experienced after suffering a career ending back injury 6 years into that career, and how an intervention from her mom helped her rediscover herself and pick herself back up during her most diffi…

Heather Colangelo joins us on the podcast & shares her experience as a law enforcement officer, how she felt she had to prove herself in a predominantly male profession, and how her promising career was ended prematurely; the result of an on-duty injury. However, Heather continues to serve. Today, she has a private practice in Hanover called Crossw…

Keith Hanks joins us on the podcast and shares openly about the purpose he found early on in his career in the fire service, the trauma(s) that shaped his life, & the impact that declining mental health had on his state of well-being. Keith discusses duty trauma, trauma in his personal life, substance abuse, loss, grief, suicidality, a diagnosis of…

Kelsey Gunther joins us on the podcast this week. Kelsey shares her story of childhood trauma, how she has felt like a helper going all the back to when she was a child on the soccer field, what it was like to join the EMS community as a senior in high school & how some of the calls quickly began to effect her. Kelsey eventually became a dispatcher…

Cindy Chesna - Widow of Weymouth Police Sgt Michael Chesna (EOW 7.15.2018) joins us on the podcast. Cindy shares with us who Mike was in life, what it was like for her to lose the love of her life, to grieve that loss publicly, while guiding and mothering her children through the loss of their father. Cindy also shares how she was able to get throu…

Carolyn Forde joins us on the podcast to share about her long career in EMS, which began right after high school. She openly discusses how over time the calls she was responding to began to add up and how that affected her. Carolyn also shares about using alcohol to cope with those duty traumas, how loosing a close friend and co-worker to suicide c…

Chaplin J.D Hebert joins us to share about his career in first response, beginning with working for ski patrol & earning his EMT, followed by decades working various roles in EMS & the fire service. He also shares with us how he was called to serve through Chaplaincy, CISM, & how he provides compassionate care to first responders during their own t…

Doug & Karen Monda join us to talk about Survive First - Where there mission is to reduce first responder suicide through quality education, peer support, and mental health and wellness resources, while fostering a greater sense of community and awareness amongst first responders and their supporters. Doug - President, Founder, and Chairman at Surv…

Darren joins us on the podcast to share about his career in the fire service, how decades of service and duty trauma impacted him shortly into his retirement, how he began on a hearty pursuit to understand his own mental health, trauma recovery, and how he's using what he learned to help others.Av Hope Beyond the Badge

Debbie joins us on the podcast to discuss her time in the military & career in law enforcement as a 911 dispatcher. She shares with us about responding to the LA riots, some of the more difficult calls she's had as a dispatcher & how those calls impacted her, including an incident where officers were ambushed & one of them was killed. Debbie also s…

Nicole Ferry joins us on the podcast to discuss her 26 year career in law enforcement, including a decade working in sex crimes. Nicole shares with us about her experience with co-worker suicide, what happened when trauma begin to surface within her, within her department, and what she does today to advocate for first responder mental health, resil…

Cassie Sexton joins us and shares her story of going from a grocery store into a life of law enforcement. She talks about working parking enforcement, in the city jail, as a dispatcher, and responding to a mass shooting incident early in her career. As the years went on Cassie would also have to deal with the loss of co-workers, including co-worker…

Wayne Hancock joins us and shares his experience as a call firefighter & his career in law enforcement. He talks about prison violence, suicide, and how he can still remember the sounds and the smells associated with some of those instances. Wayne shares how duty trauma impacted him, his journey to sobriety and trauma recovery, where he is at in hi…

Julie shares her depth of knowledge about horses, people, trauma, healing, & how she brings them all together at her Wild Hearts program to help first responders recover from trauma & reconnect with their loved ones.Av Hope Beyond the Badge

Reactions to trauma can impact the way a person experiences life. When a person suffers from PTSD – Their loved ones share in that experience. A person can move through trauma to growth & develop a more meaningful appreciation for life. When a person moves through trauma to growth – Their loved ones share in that experience.…

Dan shares with us about his career in law in law enforcement which began in 1992. He has worked for departments in Rhode Island & Florida. Dans experience includes working as a patrol officer, in detentions, street crimes, auto theft, domestic violence, homicide, sex crimes, burglary, and he currently works as a civilian background investigator. D…

Prior to joining Boulder Crest Foundation’s First Responder Initiative as the Director for New England, Robert spent 35 years as a Police Officer in Massachusetts. During his Law Enforcement career Robert was a key participant in the creation of the SEMLEC Peer Support / Critical Incident Stress Management Team. Robert served as the team’s Director…

Donna Brown began her career in Law Enforcement working the streets answering calls for service. She discovered a passion training new recruits and began teaching department wide, at the academy, and to community groups. Donna also worked in criminal investigations for 15 years, ten of those years were spent supervising the homicide unit. When she …

John Tamoosh is an Assistant Deputy Superintendent for the Plymouth County Sherriff's office, an agency he has served with since 1994. While working as a corrections officer John developed an interest in Crisis Negotiations & began serving as a negotiator in 2006. He was appointed as the commander of the METROLEC Crisis Negotiations Team & currentl…

Vance Row joins us on the podcast to discuss his over 20 year career in law enforcement & shares how duty trauma & injuries impacted his mental health & led to negative coping mechanisms. Eventually Vance began to calm his nervous system and reclaim his well-being when he found Yoga, which ultimately led to Yoga Rescue - where Vance wants to use Yo…

John Kelly joins us & shares about his 30 plus years in law enforcement. We discuss some of the lessons he learned over the course of his career, we talk about trauma, addiction, infidelity, and how they affected John and his family. Today - John uses the challenges & struggles of his past to help others, by speaking at conferences, seminars, & dep…

Jennifer Anderson is the founder and CEO of First Responder Coaching - where they help first responders identify challenges, positives, and create goals / structures for strong, healthy, lasting careers and relationships. Jennifer is also the spouse of a medically retired police officer. She shares with us the challenges that PTSD brought into all …

In this episode we have a conversation with retired Police Chief Russell Jenkins, retired Fire Chief Joe Davis, and retired Police Captain Joe Comperchio. This panel of retired first responders share about their early days on the job, duty trauma, some of the calls that stuck with them, how these careers effect our family members, loss, grief, reti…

Trease Smock's passion for mental wellness and suicide prevention came to light when she lost her father (LEO) by suicide in 2014. We discuss the loss of her father, how that event impacted her and her family, how she grieved, what helped her heal, and her passion to help others. Trease is a RN, BSN, CLNC, & Integrative Functional Medicine Practiti…

Father Sean is Parish Priest at Sacred Heart Church in Weymouth Ma, Boston Police Department Chaplain, and previously worked in law enforcement himself as a police officer with the Marshfield Police Department. Father Sean shares with us about his law enforcement family, his time and experience as a police officer, his move to the seminary, trainin…

Sgt Harrington joins Linda & Jay and shares about his career and experience in law enforcement. In addition to the work he does with his comfort dog Nola supporting his peers, he has also worked in public school and college environments. Kevin is a founding member of the South Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (SEMLEC) CISM / Peer suppo…

Chief Mark Kennedy & LT Bill Ward of the Quincy Police Department join us and share about their careers in law enforcement, some of the roles they have had over the years, & how they each came to believe in the importance of the departments stress team. This is a department that supports the mental wellness of its officers.…

In this episode Jay & Linda chat about their first 8 months of podcasts, reflect on some of the episode highlights, guests, and discuss upcoming events being hosted by Hope Beyond the Badge.Av Hope Beyond the Badge

Kevin Lynch is the CEO, President, and Founder of the Quell Foundation. He joins us on the podcast & openly discusses some of the struggles he and his family have experienced, shares how those experiences ignited a passion within him to see a change in conversations about mental health, and how that led to creating the Quell Foundation. The Quell F…

Mike Peterson joins us to discuss his military service, career in law enforcement, and shares his personal journey through trauma and loss to wellness. Mike is now a mindfulness coach, his passionate belief in the benefits of mindfulness was evident as he explained how the process can increase resiliency, performance, and well-being in first respon…

Chris Fields joins Linda and Jay to discuss his long career in the fire service and the work he's doing now to educate the next generation of first responders that it okay to not be okay - and its okay to talk about that. Chris shares openly about his mindset as a new recruit & how that changed over time. He describes the impact of loosing co-worke…