H.O.P.E Beyond The Badge

Elizabeth Bartholomew joins us on the podcast.  Liz worked as a police records clerk in Batavia Illinois  where she met Joe Bartholomew, a paid on-call firefighter, they married in 1980.  Joe was hired as a full time Firefighter in 1986.  While their daughters were young Liz was able to be a stay at home mom.  Later she drove a school bus part-time in Naperville, Illinois, became Band Booster Pres...

Mike Peterson returns to the podcast - He is a Veteran, a federal LEO, and a mindfulness expert who also works in the First Responder Mental Health Field. Mike shares his story with raw, unflinching, honesty – he speaks about his own pathway into service, his military deployments, the hardship and loss he and his fellow soldiers endured – how he reacted to those difficult stressors in real time, a...

Erin Lynch is a Suicide Loss Survivor. She lost her father Eddie Lynch, a 35 year Boston Firefighter to Suicide in 2014. Erin shares what it was like being raised by a firefighter, she discusses the dynamics of her family, speaks openly about the day that her father passed, the days, weeks, months, and years that followed. She talks about the initial shock and turmoil, she describes the weight of...

Brianna McCarty joins us on the podcast and shares how she was inspired by a family legacy in law enforcement, which led her to pursuing a career in policing where she gained firsthand experience in the realities and challenges of the profession. Brianna not only talks about her career in law enforcement, she talks about the calls she responded to that stayed with her, the ones that impacted her,...

Chief Michael Assad joins the podcast and shares with us about his career in law enforcement and some of the mental health challenges he has faced himself throughout that career. He talks about the importance of prioritizing family, not just for himself but for his officers as well. Chief Assad also explains the specific steps he has taken to implement a culture of wellness within his department,...

Scott & Lorena Bergan return to the podcast and join us for a follow up. They share a story about Compassion, Love, the Desire to Help others - Family and Loss. They describe their daughter Kaitlin and how she lived, the passion she had for life, her motivated and enthusiastic approach to entering the fire service, her love of the job, along with the grief they experienced when she died by sui...

Mark DiBona is a retired police officer & current technical advisor & mental health liaison for "Protecting the Guardian" - An organization that aims to create, promote, and maintain the health and wellness of law enforcement officers. Mark joins us on the podcast & speaks openly about his own experiences with duty trauma, childhood abuse, suicide, faith, and healing.

Barb Bigalke joins us on the podcast. Barb is the founder of the Center for Suicide Awareness, a 501 c3 non-profit where they create the kind of mental health support that doesn't wait for someone to hit rock bottom. No red tape, no judgment, just real, early intervention. Barb talks about working for the department of justice delivering death notifications, and how those duties led her to an awar...

Mike Peterson joins us to discuss his military service, career in law enforcement, and shares his personal journey through trauma and loss to wellness. Mike is now a mindfulness coach, his passionate belief in the benefits of mindfulness was evident as he explained how the process can increase resiliency, performance, and well-being in first responders.  To learn more please visit: https://www.nem...

Sean Kilbreth joins us on the podcast and shares about his experiences in law enforcement, his path to wellness and continued service. Sean has been a police officer for 26 years, he joins Linda and Jay to discuss his career - including his experience in an officer involved shooting. Sean shares how the job impacted his mental health, his family relationships, how stigma played a role in his life,...

Kammie Juzwin, PsyD is a clinical psychologist and holds professional certification as a Police Psychologist.  She is an embedded Psychologist Consultant for Bartlett Illinois Police Department, where her primary role is officer wellness and support.  She provides wellness and officer-involved critical incident consultation to individual officers or to departments, participates actively as a volun...

Brian shares with us how and why he chose to serve in the Marine Corps, his transition into a career in law enforcement following his military service, the many roles he held as a cop, and his pride in service.  Brian talks openly about the challenges he faced, the struggles he endured, how he had been coping, and how a new friendship that blossomed into a mentorship gave way to a new pathway of h...

David Berez is a retired Police Officer and Drug Recognition Expert, having served more than 20 years with the East Windsor Police Department and a total of 33 years in Emergency Services, including EMS and OEM. Following his retirement, Mr. Berez is now the President and Founder of Six4 Consultants, a Public Safety Consulting Firm. Mr. Berez is also the author of A Resilient Life: A Cops Journey...

Chief Deboard joins us on the podcast and discusses her 38 year career in law enforcement, from how it started, early experiences on the job, proving herself, climbing the ranks, the associated pride, commitment, as well as all the pressure and stress that went along with it. Chief Deboard shares about some of the strategies she began using to manage mounting stress, she talks about her experience...

Danielle and Karla join us on the podcast and discuss their family connection to First Response, their lived experiences as first responder family members, and why the work they do serving first responders at Boston Firefighters Credit Union is more than just a job.  They also share with us the many ways they can assist first responders towards achieving their financial goals, plan for long term s...

Katherine Boyle - the daughter of a Philadelphia Police Lieutenant - joins us on the podcast and details her experience of growing up in a first responder family. She shares her unique perspective on the challenges faced within first responder households, and discusses the work she does with Beyond the Uniform, where she uses her experience to help families build stronger bonds and stay connected,...

David joins us on the podcast and shares his story of what led him into the fire service, the love he found for the job once he was there, the challenges he faced through transition into retirement, and the importance of finding purpose post service. David talks about the importance of early introduction to mental health and wellness concepts for first responders, the importance of consistently re...

Erin Lynch is a Suicide Loss Survivor. She lost her father Eddie Lynch, a 35 year Boston Firefighter to Suicide in 2014. Erin shares what it was like being raised by a firefighter, she discusses the dynamics of her family, speaks openly about the day that her father passed, the days, weeks, months, and years that followed. She talks about the initial shock and turmoil, she describes the weight of...

Tracy Ryan joined First Responder Therapy Dogs in August 2021 with her dog Sparkie in an effort to spread therapy dog love to First Responders on the East Coast.  She resides in East Bridgewater, MA, where she is a High School Guidance Counselor, mom to 2 boys, and wife of a firefighter.  Blaze most recently joined the ranks as her 2nd FRTD certified dog in 2025.  Being able to share her dogs with...

Dave and Christie Dyke join us on the podcast. Dave talks about working in Law Enforcement for 28 years, how he expected to stay on the job for at least 35 years, and shares how stress, trauma, mental health challenges and suicidal ideation led him to an earlier retirement than he had planned for.  His wife Christie shares how she devoted herself to saving Dave, along with their marriage, how she...

Barb Bigalke joins us on the podcast. Barb is the founder of the Center for Suicide Awareness, a 501 c3 non-profit where they create the kind of mental health support that doesn't wait for someone to hit rock bottom. No red tape, no judgment, just real, early intervention. Barb talks about working for the department of justice delivering death notifications, and how those duties led her to an awar...

Madison is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor & the owner of Madison Elie Counseling where she provides online trauma therapy for adults across Maryland & Pennsylvania. Coming from a First Responder Family, Madison has been working almost exclusively with First Responders, Veterans, and other professionals in high stress roles since 2018. Her work focuses on helping clients recover...

Fran Graham is an International crisis response & trauma specialist, instructor & consultant with proven emergency management skills. Proficient team builder & strategic planner, with an emphasis in First Responder Peer Support & Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM).  Before Fran was a trauma specialist, before she was an expert in peer support, and before she was an internat...

Our regular listeners and followers might notice that this episode is being released on a Wednesday, where our weekly episodes are typically released on Fridays.  The reason for that is because SGT Alex G. Kokoros died by suicide on October 29th 2018. Today marks the 7th anniversary of his loss. So this episode is in memory of Alex - with his family in mind. This episode is also a tribute to Alex'...

Jeff Dill is a retired Fire Captain , the founder of Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance (FBHA), and the behavioral health administrator for Las Vegas Fire and Rescue. At FBHA they hold workshops to educate firefighters, EMS personnel, and dispatchers on behavioral health, moral injury, and suicide prevention. They also track data on firefighter, EMS, and dispatcher suicide, host retreats for s...