Scott & Lorena Bergan join us to share a story about Compassion, Love, the Desire to Help others - Family and Loss. They describe their daughter Kaitlin and how she lived, The passion she had for life, her motivated and enthusiastic approach to entering the fire service, her love of the job, along with the grief they experienced when she died by suicide.

Dave Betz - a law enforcement officer with decades of experience , and his wife Janice share the tragedy of losing their son - David Kevin Betz III - to Suicide. David was in the process of becoming a law enforcement officer himself.

They talk about the job, how it impacts those who wear the uniform, how it also impacts the families of those who serve, the struggle they all face, the pain and grief involved with losing a family member to suicide, the work they have done to raise awareness and reduce death by suicide, and the many ways that they help others.

Joe shares with us about his career in the fire service. He speaks openly about difficult calls and how he was affected by them. He talks about the progressive symptoms he began experiencing, having panic attacks, and how he eventually considered taking his own life. His wife Amy shares her perspective. She talks about how Joe's mental health affected her, their marriage, and their family. Then Joe reached out for help. Joe and Amy explain how they were guided to culturally competent resources, talk about treatment, care, and how their family began to heal.

Dave and Christie Dyke join us on the podcast.

Dave talks about working in Law Enforcement for 28 years, how he expected to stay on the job for at least 35 years, and shares how stress, trauma, mental health challenges and suicidal ideation led him to an earlier retirement than he had planned for.

His wife Christie shares how she devoted herself to saving Dave, along with their marriage, how she herself became lost along the way, and eventually considered suicide as an option as well.

Together Dave and Christie share their raw, powerful story of struggle, suffering, commitment, resiliency, recovery, and healing.

Barb Bigalke joins us on the podcast.

Barb is the founder of the Center for Suicide Awareness, a 501 c3 non-profit where they create the kind of mental health support that doesn't wait for someone to hit rock bottom. No red tape, no judgment, just real, early intervention. Barb talks about working for the department of justice delivering death notifications, and how those duties led her to an awareness about the impacts of death by suicide, and first responder mental health, which propelled her into this journey. She shares with us the many ways her center approaches its mission, which includes a HOPELine offering suicide prevention, partnering with the video game industry to educate our youth about suicide prevention and intervention, creating a documentary, developing training programs and outreach with First Responders.

To learn more about Barb and the Center for Suicide Awareness click here: https://www.centerforsuicideawareness.org/

Madison is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor & the owner of Madison Elie Counseling where she provides online trauma therapy for adults across Maryland & Pennsylvania. Coming from a First Responder Family, Madison has been working almost exclusively with First Responders, Veterans, and other professionals in high stress roles since 2018. Her work focuses on helping clients recover from trauma, reduce burnout, and rebuild balance in their lives. Madison is passionate about supporting those who serve their communities, and creating a space where they can slow down, process what they've been through, and reconnect with themselves and others.

In this episode Madison shares with us her own journey thru life and into this work, she explains how she gravitated into specializing in trauma and working with First Responders and Veterans. She talks about first responders, families and relationships, the importance of communication, accountability, and outlines the 9 steps to recognizing or delivering an authentic apology.

For more information about Madison you can check her out at - https://www.madisoneliecounseling.com/

Fran Graham is an International crisis response & trauma specialist, instructor & consultant with proven emergency management skills. Proficient team builder & strategic planner, with an emphasis in First Responder Peer Support & Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM).

Before Fran was a trauma specialist, before she was an expert in peer support, and before she was an international crisis response leader, Fran was a cop, she began to struggle, she didn't have the help, the support, or the resources she needed, and she lost her career as a result.

In this episode Fran talks about her path to becoming the resource she needed herself during that time but didn't have, she explains the difference between post traumatic stress and PTSD, the importance of peer support, the importance of leaders being educated on these topics, organizational wellness programs, and so much more.

Our regular listeners and followers might notice that this episode is being released on a Wednesday, where our weekly episodes are typically released on Fridays.

The reason for that is because SGT Alex G. Kokoros died by suicide on October 29th 2018. Today marks the 7th anniversary of his loss.

So this episode is in Memory of Alex - with his Family in mind.

This episode is also a tribute to Alex's friends & fellow officers that were left behind - Those that struggled after his loss. We hope you are all doing well, and understand that does not mean that you don't still miss him.

Finally, this episode is in recognition of all first responders around the nation who are getting help today, and a call to those who need it. If you do - we hope this peer discussion will prompt you to reach out for the support that you deserve, the support you have earned.

Police officers Justin Simmons, Ryan Doherty, Thomas Lesage, Tom Delaney, and Tony Gentile are Alex's friends and coworkers on the Abington Police Department.

It was a privilege to hear the stories of how Alex lived, and an honor to listen as these gentlemen shared their own experiences as suicide loss survivors.