FirstNet, Built With AT&T, Teams With First H.E.L.P. to Support First Responders in Lorain County With #ResponderReadiness Training

ELYRIA, Ohio, April 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First H.E.L.P. (Honor, Educate, Lead and Prevent) and FirstNet®, Built with AT&T, are teaming up to provide first responders in communities in and near Lorain County with free world-class mental health training through First H.E.L.P.'s #ResponderReadiness Workshop Series. First responders can register today for trainings scheduled in Elyria on April 19-21. 

During the four-hour workshops, First Responders explore the 3Ps of #ResponderReadiness: Performance, Persistence, and Prevention. Through small group discussions, participants explore the impact that operational stress and trauma have on their careers and families and use scenario-based training to practice having difficult conversations about mental health and suicide prevention with friends, family members, and co-workers. First responders practice resilience skills using what First H.E.L.P. refers to as the R.A.N.G.E. of Resilience.

"By providing awareness and practical tools, we can help first responders perform at their best throughout their career, benefiting the responder, their family, their agency, and the community," said Dr. Jeffrey McGill, First H.E.L.P.'s co-founder and CEO. 

Since 2016, First H.E.L.P. has tracked law enforcement suicides throughout the nation and in 2021, opened their efforts to include all first responders. The State of Ohio accounts for 43 of the 997 suicides reported to First H.E.L.P. since 2017, with two reported already in 2022.

The trainings are scheduled to take place in Elyria on April 19-21 at Lorain County Community College. 

AT&T is working to ease the burden for communities by providing high-quality training to Ohio first responders at no cost. FirstNet is the only nationwide, high-speed broadband communications platform dedicated to and purpose-built for America's first responders and the extended public safety community. Shaped by the vision of Congress and the first responder community following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, FirstNet is built with AT&T in public-private partnership with the First Responder Network Authority, an independent agency within the federal government. 

"AT&T's commitment to our public safety community goes beyond our FirstNet network connectivity," said Dr. Anna Courie, DPN, RN, PHNA-BC, Director, Responder Wellness, FirstNet Program at AT&T. "We are dedicated to working with First H.E.L.P. to bring mental health resources to first responders across the country — especially in rural areas with limited access. This program with First H.E.L.P. will better equip first responders mentally and physically and help our public safety community stay safer."

First H.E.L.P.'s #ResponderReadiness workshop series is a unique program that brings together all first responders in a cohesive training program where participants develop skills built around a common set of principles. 

The training program reinforces the strategic priorities established by the FirstNet Health and Wellness Coalition (FNHWC) to support first responders and their families. The mission of the FNHWC is to integrate responder, community, industry, and academic capabilities to support the health, wellness, and readiness of American first responders.

The two organizations hope to see this training reach far into local Ohio communities. While the training is open to federal, state, and large municipal responders, priority goes to smaller communities.

First Responders in and around Lorain County can register for this free training on First H.E.L.P.'s website: 1sthelp.org/event/2022elyria/.