Gerald Mishoe is currently the Executive Director of the Lowcountry Firefighter Support Team, Inc. headquartered in the coastal area of South Carolina. He has been involved in the South Carolina Fire Service since 1967 as a firefighter, paramedic, company officer, and a chief officer.
In 2007, he was asked to lead the development of the Charleston Firefighter Support Team, a counseling unit and peer team for the Charleston Fire Department after the tragic loss of nine Charleston firefighters in the Sofa Super Store fire.
In 2012, he was one of the founders of the SC Firefighter Assistance and Support Team, (now known as SC FAST), that provides behavioral health care for emergency services personnel across the state.
In 2013, the Charleston Firefighter Support Team transitioned as a non-profit organization to the Lowcountry Firefighter Support Team that now serves emergency services personnel and their families in the State of South Carolina with a comprehensive peer and clinical-based program. The Team is composed of eighty-seven peer team members from the Fire Service, EMS, 911 Telecommunicators, and Law Enforcement disciplines supported by thirty-one mental health clinicians providing a well-rounded behavioral health and wellness program.
In 2017, he led the formation of the Lowcountry EMS Support Team followed in 2018 with the Lowcountry 911 Telecommunicator Support Team to provide improved support for EMS personnel and 911 Telecommunicators. All three Teams now operate under the original 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization to provide a well-rounded program for our emergency services personnel and their families. Gerald is also a development team member of the Center for Firefighter Behavioral Health, headquartered at the Medical University of South Carolina, that provides online resources and training for firefighters throughout the United States and abroad.
His presentation, “Where Do We Go from Here?”, will address the growth of behavioral health programs in emergency services since 2007. Many lessons have been learned, mistakes have been made, and much more has been developed that will ensure the behavioral health of our first responders remains a priority into the future.