Dear Friends:
As another year comes to an end, we are excited about continuing our work to support our firefighters, EMS personnel, 911 dispatchers, and their families. We have had a good year with several new initiatives to provide an increased level of support to all whom we serve.
Our “Step Up & Step Out” Suicide Prevention program is reaching many who have not received help in the past. In addition to it being an important part of our Team’s response to those in need, it is also being offered as a teaching tool to be presented for any audience as we work to remove the stigma of asking for help. We are excited to be offering it as a seminar on two different dates in January with plans to offer it at least once a month in the New Year.
Our “Operation Zzz” weighted blanket program is producing amazing results for those suffering with anxiety and/or PTSD. We have been blessed to be able to join Stacy Green, a local paramedic, who started the program in providing these blankets. We know from our peer contacts that most all who suffer the effects of bad events, whether personal or on-the-job as first responders, report their inability to sleep. We have decided to take a proactive stance by offering those in need a way to sleep better. We believe that if we can help those improve their sleep pattern, it will better prepare them to live a more comfortable life and to receive the full benefit from the behavioral health care provided to them by our clinicians. We have many testimonial letters from those who have benefited from the blankets who have shared their amazing stories.
We are especially pleased to have helped our brothers and sisters in both EMS and 911 dispatch this past year as we have helped organize and train peers in their organizations to join our Team and serve as peer team members to take care of their own.
The Lowcountry Firefighter and EMS Support Teams now have over 75 peer team members working within their ranks every day supported by 10 clinicians throughout the Lowcountry to provide their higher level of care when warranted. Our peer team members are averaging over 200 direct contacts to firefighters, EMS personnel, 911 dispatchers, and their family members every month with many of those being referred to our clinicians for advanced care.
We believe that 2018 will be another great year of providing programs and services to improve the lives of our first responders. Our Team is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization that depends on contributions from those in our ranks and the community to fund our programs.
Won’t you please help us? Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to our “Donate” link on this website or by mailing your contribution to Lowcountry Firefighter Support Team, P.O. Box 80962, Charleston, South Carolina 29416.
We will be grateful for your support!