Philadelphia symposium to help first responders get help coping with mental health struggles
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- On Friday, there will be a first-of-its-kind suicide prevention gathering to help Philadelphia first responders cope with mental health struggles.
"The depression, the anxiety diagnosis, the PTSD, survivor's guilt, all that," said Carlos Ramirez, of the Philadelphia Fire Department. "Because initially I felt as though that made me less of a person, less of a man."
Ramirez is a Philly paramedic who saves lives but the emergencies he handles have taken a toll on his mental health.
Ramirez: "I had those thoughts."
Stephanie Stahl: "You didn't want to live anymore?"
Rameris: "I didn't want to live anymore. I had no idea what to do."
Then he started losing comrades in the line of duty. Loss and trauma complicated emotions that many first responders deal with.
A peer support group for the Philadelphia Police Department helps teach ways to help colleagues navigate mental health issues. After getting help himself Ramirez is now giving back.
"I use all the tools I learned, you know, being able to reach out to somebody talk it through," Ramirez said.
Ramirez will share his story Friday at Temple at a first of its kind suicide prevention symposium for first responders.
"While we're being strong for everybody else, sometimes we forget ourselves," Philadelphia Police Sgt. Janean Brown said.
Brown who has been with the PPD for 23 years, is helping to coordinate the symposium.
"We don't want people to suffer in silence, we don't want people to feel like they're alone. A lot of times we isolate because we feel like we're the only ones," Brown said.
Through the endless tragedies and carnage, first responders cope in different ways. About 30% struggle with depression and anxiety.
That help now coming from professionals and peers de-stigmatizing mental health problems among first responders
"Sometimes we desensitize to it, which is not healthy, but it's a survival thing that we do," Brown said. "So now we're just again trying to bring awareness so that we can start decompressing and start talking about things in the healthy way."
The First Responders Symposium of Philadelphia is a one-day event at Temple University to raise awareness and provide informational resources on suicide prevention and the challenges surrounding mental health as a first responder.
Members of law enforcement, firefighters, EMS providers, communication dispatchers, active military personnel, and veterans in Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey are invited to attend this event.
Attendance to the symposium will be free with lunch and parking provided.
If you or someone you know is in crisis call the Lifeline at 988. No matter what time of day someone will pick-up someone who can support you in a crisis. you can also text the word "home" to 741-741.
