
Campaign to raise awareness for first responder mental health across Canada
They run toward what the rest of us run from — gunfire, flames, and unspeakable tragedy.
For Canada's first responders, witnessing the unthinkable is part of the job. But what's often unseen is what they carry with them long after the sirens fade.
'They ask, 'Are you OK?'' says retired RCMP officer Jonathan Williams. 'And I always said, 'Of course I'm good.' Because whatever I just came from… was worse.'
Williams served 14 years in the RCMP. He describes his time on the force as meaningful — but behind the uniform was a growing weight he could no longer ignore.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
'For me, it was years and years of seeing so much,' he says. 'It's not normal, but you get used to it. And then it just started eroding me.'
Story continues below advertisement
What followed was a battle with depression and PTSD — invisible injuries that eventually led him to seek help.
'The recovery program was everything,' Williams explains. 'It allowed me to get to a safe place — not just physically, but mentally.'
That program is run by Diversified Rehabilitation Group, a Kelowna-based organization offering specialized support for trauma-exposed first responders. This month, they're spearheading an online awareness campaign called Sounding the Alarm to shed light on what many suffer in silence.
'We're reaching out through social media during our 31-day campaign,' says Derek Sienko, chief mental health officer with Diversified. 'When they come to us, they're emotionally beat up. And they're not used to sharing — because they've been trained not to.'
But silence can be deadly.
'When trauma goes untreated,' Sienko says, 'the consequences can be devastating. We lose them — in many different ways. Suicide is one of them. And I don't think there's even one question in my mind… all of that is preventable.
'If we can save a life, we must.'
More information on the campaign can be found online.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Global News
an hour ago
- Global News
Questions raised over outgoing IH CEO's ability to solve crisis at Kelowna General Hospital
Rylie Nicholls spent a lot of time in the pediatric ward at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) before the five-year-old Lake Country girl died from an aggressive form of cancer in 2023. 'We had about 10 different admissions through Kelowna General Hospital,' Nicholls said. The Lake Country mother, who also has an eight-year-old son, is upset about the pediatric ward closure due to a shortage of physicians. 'I've been through the journey. I know what it's like,' Nicholls said. 'It saddens me and terrifies me for families now that will need it.' The concerns have been echoed across the region since the pediatric unit closed on May 26, for at least six weeks. Doctors have also gone public with their concerns saying their voices have been silenced for years as they pleaded with Interior Health (IH) for changes to the care model. Story continues below advertisement 'We've been raising our voices for many years about the systemic issues at KGH and how they've been impacting staff and safety,' said Dr. Alysha MacKenzie-Feder, a Kelowna pediatrician. 'We wanted to make sure that that was heard and understood that this crisis really was predictable.' Numerous pediatricians, including MacKenzie-Feder, have resigned from their hospital work in the last two years, citing difficult working conditions. According to a letter signed by 13 pediatricians, there are only four pediatricians working at the hospital along with one newborn specialist. They say the baseline calls for 12. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Interior Health is an organization in limbo,' Conservative MLA for Kelowna-Mission Gavin Dew told Global News Wednesday. Dew is concerned that with IH CEO Susan Brown set to retire in December, a quick resolution to the crisis may not be possible. 'We have a CEO who is six months away from departing and we have a crisis that is happening now, so that has left us in a place where we appear to have lame duck leadership,' Dew said. Dew and two other local Conservative MLAs are set to meet with Brown on Thursday to discuss the crisis but he added that the community cannot afford to wait months for a new CEO to take over and tackle the problem, suggesting that a leadership transition could be fast-tracked. Story continues below advertisement 'I want to know whether the Minister of Health has confidence in the leadership of Interior Health because if the minister doesn't have confidence, let's get it over with. Let's move forward. Let's hit the reset button,' Dew said. 2:10 Interior Health CEO speaks out on pediatric unit closure at KGH Minister of Health Josie Osborne was not available for comment Thursday. IH's board of directors chair, Dr. Robert Halpenny, said in a statement sent to Global News, 'I am fully supportive of our CEO, Susan Brown, and her approach, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, to put in place solutions to address the staffing challenges in Kelowna General Hospital's pediatrics unit. ' The statement went on to say, 'As a former clinician and CEO of Interior Health myself, I can say that both Susan's efforts and her dedication to supporting the teams at IH, as well as our community and patients, is appreciated by the board and also aligned with what we think should be done.' Story continues below advertisement Halpenny added, 'Although a significant reason for these shortages is the global lack of physicians, changes in how physicians practice and a growing population, we know she is still working hard to put systems and services in place.' The statement does not include any mention of a revamped model of care that is being demanded by the doctors. The pediatrician group has stated that IH is misleading the public by blaming the hospital crisis on a global physician shortage. The doctors say it's IH's mismanagement that has resulted in the current crisis. 2:09 Kelowna mother speaking out after infant daughter transferred to Penticton hospital


Global News
2 hours ago
- Global News
Saskatchewan's health minister offers surgical performance update
See more sharing options Send this page to someone via email Share this item on Twitter Share this item via WhatsApp Share this item on Facebook Saskatchewan Health Minister Jermey Cockrill says 100,000 surgeries and procedures have been completed from April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025, with 92 per cent of surgeries taking place within eight months. Get weekly health news Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday. Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The NDP opposition says that the Sask. Party government is counting procedures it didn't count in previous years. Watch the video above to find out more.


Toronto Star
6 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Hundreds of laid-off CDC employees are being reinstated
NEW YORK (AP) — More than 460 laid-off employees at the nation's top public health agency received notices Wednesday that they are being reinstated, according to a union representing the workers. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed reinstatement notices went out to the former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees, but provided few details. About 2,400 CDC employees lost their jobs in a wave of cuts across federal health agencies in early April, according to a tally at the time. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Whole CDC programs were essentially shut down, including some focused on smoking, lead poisoning, gun violence, asthma and air quality, and workplace safety and health. The entire office that handles Freedom of Information Act requests was shuttered. Infectious disease programs took a hit, too, including programs that fight outbreaks in other countries, labs focused on HIV and hepatitis in the U.S., and staff trying to eliminate tuberculosis. An estimated 200 of the reinstated workers are based in the CDC's National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention, HHS officials confirmed. Staffers at a CDC lab that does testing for sexually transmitted diseases are being brought back, said one CDC employee who wasn't authorized to discuss what happened and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Also reinstated are an estimated 150 employees at the CDC's National Center for Environmental Health, including people staffing a lab that works on lead poisoning, according to the union and employees. Layoffs at federal agencies were challenged in lawsuits, with judges in some cases ordering federal agencies to halt terminations of employees. Officials at HHS have never detailed how they made the layoff decisions in the first place. And they did not answer questions about why the notices went out, or how decisions were made about who to bring back. HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said the agency was streamlining operations and that 'the nation's critical public health functions remain intact and effective.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'The Trump Administration is committed to protecting essential services — whether it's supporting coal miners and firefighters through NIOSH, safeguarding public health through lead prevention, or researching and tracking the most prevalent communicable diseases,' he said. This is not the first time that employees at the Atlanta-based agency were told they were being terminated only to then be told to come back. After an earlier round of termination notices went out in February, about 180 CDC employees in March were told to come back. __ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.