Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) are no stranger to homicides. This and other crimes take their toll on those who aid us in our time of need. The stress can be overwhelming, especially when the LEO has other pressures and a lack of supervisory support. Nick Ruggerio explains the origins of his mission to change this.
Tim Grutzius is a 25+ year fire service veteran and a team member of the Illinois Firefighter Peer Support . He understands the detrimental effect stress can have on the overall wellbeing of our mind, body, and spirit. He is also a Certified Personal Trainer and Health Coach, he has a diploma in Holistic Health Practice, a certificate in Wellness Consulting and is a certified Usui Reiki Master Practitioner. Tim was diagnosed with PTSD and had a tough struggle out of it, but he is out of it. Now he works to help all those first responders who are struggling.
Twitter: @holisticff
@centannilife
Illinois Firefighter Peer Support https://www.ilffps.org/
https://centannilife.com/what-is-reiki/
https://centannilife.com/chakras-spinning-centers-that-express-our-vital-life-energy/
timgrutzius@gmail.com
https://youtu.be/E97l4Cjarpg
www.centannilife.com
timothygrutzius@centannilife.com
Tom and Tessa Dunn sit down with the firefighter deconstructed and talk about what it’s like to work as a resident police officer in the middle of nowhere in Alaska. Tom Dunn is the founder of RESET Training and Consulting. He is a recently retired Lieutenant for the Alaska State Troopers (May 2020) who served the citizens of Alaska for over 25 years and is an FBI National Academy graduate of session 253. During his career, he worked in many communities with rural and urban community diversity. He is a certified instructor in several law enforcement disciplines and is a current Mental Health First Aid instructor who has provided instruction at the Alaska State Trooper Training Academy and all over the State of Alaska. Tessa Dunn is the co-founder of RESET Training and Consulting. The mission is to teach first responders and their families, new ways to cope with trauma and exhaustion in the workplace. RESET also partners with staff and families of special needs children. Tessa’s role in RESET will be co-teaching the workshops for spouses of first responders and educators. She is the event organizer and the biggest smile in the room.
RESET Training and Consulting offers training in Resiliency, Engaging and Empowering Communities, Soul Care, Employee Retention and mental health Training.
www.resettrainingandconsulting.com
Tom & Tessa Dunn
907-299-6054
907-315-4077
resettrainandconsult@gmail.com
Tara Myers lost her brother and sister to separate homicides in Sells, Arizona. She and her loved ones have been marginalized in life and her siblings have been marginalized in death. Here she describes her uphill battle with turning away from alcohol and finding some relief from her grief. Much too little is published about the high and disproportionate victimization of Indigenous people in North America. It has given birth to the MMIW movement. Listen as Tara describes her all-too-familiar experiences with this shameful chapter in American history.
Eric Weaver is a retired sergeant with the Rochester, NY Police Dept., where he served for twenty years from 1985-2005. He was a police sergeant for the RPD for the last 13 years of his highly decorated career. Prior to his employment with the RPD, he served as a Corrections Officer from 1983-1985 with the Ontario County, NY Sheriff’s Department. While with the RPD, he served in numerous positions within the Department, including numerous patrol assignments, the Tactical Unit, the SWAT team, and Internal Affairs. Eric’s last assignment for the Rochester Police Department was as Mental Health Coordinator, and was the creator, developer, and Commanding Officer of the first Crisis Intervention Team in NYS. The CIT is a specialized unit within the RPD that responds to calls within the Rochester community for individuals who are experiencing a mental health crisis. He continues to serve as a consultant with numerous police departments and their respective communities in NYS in the creation, development, training, and implementation of similar Crisis Intervention Teams, and has served as a leading consultant for the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services and NYS Office of Mental Health in developing CIT training throughout New York State. Eric is a consultant with the National Council for Behavioral Health, and serves as a National Trainer for the internationally recognized Mental Health First Aid and Youth Mental Health First Aid programs. Eric served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Suicide Intervention Skills Trainer Consortium of New York, was a Depression and Bi-Polar Support Alliance’s (DBSA) group facilitator and a member of the DBSA National Speaker’s Bureau, and is currently a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)-NYS Consumer Affairs Committee. He also serves as a Peer Review consultant for SpecPro Management Services, LLC regarding police mental health training on a state and federal level. Eric is also former pastor and served for several years as the Executive and Counseling Pastor of Crosswinds Wesleyan Church in Canandaigua, NY. Eric holds a certificate in Biblical Counseling from the American Association of Christian Counselors.
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/eric-weaver-overcomingthedarkness
Website: www.overcomingthedarkness.com
Email: eric@overcomingthedarkness.com
Positive Connections Radio:
E-54: Brock Bevell: Former Undercover Cop.
Identity Loss, Addiction and Recovery.
Brock Bevell became a police officer and like all First Responders survived through countless critical incidents and emotional stress and events that change his life.
His last critical incident involved being run over by a suspect in a truck trying to escape arrest. Brock suffered career ending injuries and was medically retired as a police officer. Brock lost his identity as a police officer and got addicted to opiates for several years after being first prescribed them for his injuries.
Brock found himself living the horrid life of an addict and realized that he had crossed the line and became the person he had arrested and confronted numerous times during his career as a police officer.
With his life spinning out of control brought on by addiction, the loss of friends and loved ones and the constant struggle with addiction and suffering he looked at his life and in a moment of clarity decided he had to change.
For the next seven days, Brock detoxed from opioids on his bathroom floor and pulled himself up from the hellish realm of dependence to start a new life in recovery. After 11 years of sobriety Brock now gives back and helps others who are suffering. He tells his story to give hope to those who feel like life is hopeless.
Contact Brock at www.Chasethevase.com
www.MentalHealthNewsRadio.com
www.positiveconnectionsradio.com
Kristi Tausinga sits down with the firefighter deconstructed and talks about being a female cop, getting addicted and then unaddicted to painkillers. This woman is one strong lady! She was diagnosed with PTSD and survived a suicide attempt. And on top of all that, she was totally abandoned by her administration. She was sexually assaulted at work by a supervisor and then was written up for engaging in sexual activities while at work. Her passion now is to reach out to those who are suffering and to spread the word that there is help and to smash the stigma – it’s actually courageous to ask for help!!
Instagram: mile_marker_28
Cell phone: 928.586.8375
Safecall: www.safecallnowusa.org
THE Tom Satterly and his wife Jen sit down with the Firefighter Deconstructed. Who are these people? Well Tom spent 20 years in Delta Force, the most elite special forces unit there is. Tom is a legend even among other Tier One special operators. He was in the Battle of Mogadishu (Black Hawk Down) and the capturing of Saddam Hussein. He survived incredible feats of war but he almost didn’t survive PTS. Who is Jen? The woman who stood by Tom and went through tough times helping Tom get to the other side. Now they both work non stop to help their brothers and sisters in the military and first responders who have PTS.
Jen Satterly spent three years as Director of Film and Photography with an elite military company and was fully embedded in Special Operation training missions. She is the Co-Founder and Chief of Programs of their nonprofit, All Secure Foundation, and speaking alongside Tom about the challenges that spouses and families deal with both during deployment and coming home.
Books:
All Secure by Tom Satterly
Arsenal of Hope: Tactics for Taking on PTSD, Together by Jen Satterly
https://allsecurefoundation.org/
www.tomsatterly.com
Ever wonder what demands were placed on staff servicing the Pulse Nightclub when the mass casualty occurred? What about the homicide survivors who poured in following the news (many of whom did not speak English?) Listen in as Roxy explains this from the view from the inside.
