Emergency responders, public safety workers, and military personnel are put in extreme situations every day. Even the strongest can have trouble coping, and some need extra support to deal with the aftermath of what they’ve seen and experienced.
Please join us this June and make a donation to Tema.ca. Named as a memorial to Tema Conter by founder and former paramedic Vince Savoia, Tema helps public safety and military personnel by providing:
- Trauma prevention support.
- Counseling and peer support for PTSD sufferers and their families.
- Public awareness efforts around the mental health stressors that workers face in the line of duty.
- Research into mental health causes and treatment. This is to offset the fact that less than 4% of research funding is dedicated to mental health.
There are many ways to donate: a single donation, recurring donations and more.
Anyone Can Get PTSD - But It’s More Likely to Hit Public Safety Workers
PTSD, or post traumatic stress disorder, is a very real condition that can have a lasting impact on someone’s life. PTSD can manifest in a variety of symptoms, like reliving the event, avoiding situations that remind the sufferer of the event, an increase of negative feelings (like survivor’s guilt), or uncontrollable hyper-alertness.
To be classified as PTSD, the symptoms must last longer than a few months after the traumatic incident, and must be severe enough to impact the person’s life.
PTSD is not a sign of weakness. While it is not known why some people get it and others don’t, it can happen to the bravest and most dedicated individuals. Treatment methods vary according to exact symptoms, and outcomes vary as well; but even a lessening of the symptoms to a manageable level can be a game changer for the sufferer.
Here are some eye-opening statistics about PTSD and other mental health disorders:
- PTSD occurs much more frequently in emergency responders than in the general population. In some public safety fields, rates can be higher than 25%.
- Every year, dozens of paramedics, firefighters, and other public safety workers commit suicide.
- 1 in 5 people will experience a mental health disorder in their lifetime.
- 1 in 10 Canadians experience a diagnosable mental health disorder within any given year. More than half do not receive a diagnosis. Of those diagnosed, less than half receive treatment that meets expected standards of practice.
- 15% of Canadian health care expenditures can be traced back to mental health disorders.
- Mental health disorders cost the Canadian economy $51 billion annually.
Source: Tema factsheets.
Because Heroes Are Human
Tema’s motto is “because heroes are human”. We believe in helping the heroes who have been put in the line of fire or who help us when there’s a fire, accident, or other public safety crisis.
“First responders and military personnel do vital work - the work society has asked of them. A mental health injury is just like a physical injury. If they’ve incurred it while working, we owe it to them to do our best to help them heal,” says Production Case Vice President Peter Lever.
This June, we’re making our second annual donation to help Tema. Won’t you join us?
