H.O.P.E Beyond The Badge

Part 2 of a 2 Part Episode - Mark and Pat Freire are father and son, they are both LEO's, they are both compassionate towards first responder trauma, and passionate about first responder wellness. Mark Freire (Father) - is a retired Boston Police officer, and past director of the departments Peer Support Unit. He speaks openly about some of the calls and conditions that caused him to struggle, wha...

Part 1 of a 2 Part Episode - Mark and Pat Freire are father and son, they are both LEO's, they are both compassionate towards first responder trauma, and passionate about first responder wellness. Mark Freire (Father) - is a retired Boston Police officer, and past director of the departments Peer Support Unit. He speaks openly about some of the calls and conditions that caused him to struggle, wha...

Jim is an OEF/OIF Veteran who served 30 years in the Army and retired as a LTC, and a 25 year Veteran of the Boston Police Dept. Jim has worked patrol, as a bomb technician, in sexual assault investigations, and as an operations supervisor.   Jim talks openly about his own struggles, personal and family problems, the challenges of being a single parent, alcohol abuse, and the many friends and cowo...

Josh Goldberg is the CEO of Bolder Crest Foundation - A nationally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on ensuring the military, veteran, and first responder communities can live great lives in the aftermath of trauma.  Boulder Crest Foundation is the home and global leader in the development of  Posttraumatic Growth (PTG). They exist as an organization to transform the way that our society thi...

Dr. Gilmartin joins us on the podcast, Dr Gilmartin is a behavioral scientist specializing in law enforcement and public safety related issues. He is the author of the book Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement: A Guide for Officers and Their Families . He previously spent twenty years working in law enforcement in Tucson, Arizona. During his tenure he supervised the Hostage Negotiations Team and...

Molly O'Neil joins us and shares about her husband Chris. She talks about meeting him when she was still in high school, going to the same college, and falling in love. She talks about starting a family together, and how Chris lived and loved to be a father.  She describes her experience when Chris began to struggle, and what was going on in those days and weeks leading up to his loss.  Molly also...

Mike, Tom, and Jim come together and join us on the podcast to share about their careers in Law Enforcement, why they chose to serve in the first place, some of the critical incidents they have been involved in, the impacts those incidents had on them both professionally and personally, and the ways in which they offer service and support to their fellow LEO's and each other.  These men have all e...

Bryan Mokrisky joins us to share his journey of service, as a soldier, in law enforcement, and now as the Public Safety Wellness Coordinator for the town of Stoughton Ma.   Bryan talks about serving in the Army as a Military Police Soldier, his time spent working for the Sherriff's Dept as a corrections officer, serving as a  Police Officer in the town he grew up in, and the valuable lessons he le...

Jason joins us to discuss his career of service, the lessons he learned along the way, and what he's doing now to inform the next generation of first responders. He is a Navy Veteran, retired NYC police officer with over 20 years of experience in forensic and criminal investigations, and was a member of the NYPD Peer Support Team. He co-authored the book "Living Blue" along with Barbera Rubel - wh...

Devin Cole is a retired Police Officer, First Responder Wellness Advocate, and Public Speaker.  He discusses his career which spanned over 30 years and  included roles in patrol, gang enforcement, community outreach for addiction programs, K9 officer, and attachment to the departments SWAT team.   Davin explains how he suffered an on duty injury, how that injury led him to develop an addiction to...

Dr. Baumgart is a licensed psychologist who is board certified in police and public safety psychology. She is an author, speaks publicly about the challenges police officers face when transitioning into retirement, is on staff as a psychologist within a law enforcement organization, and is married to a now retired police officer. Dr Baumgart shares with us some of the challenges that began to surf...

Police Chief Christopher Workman began his career in the fire service before transitioning into policing. He has a combined total of over 3 decades working in first response, he is an author, public speaker, founder of the Deep Blu Project, and podcast host. Chief Workman shares openly about how the job unwittingly influenced his personality, his personal life, his professional life, and every rel...

Doug joins us and shares his personal journey of service, stress, struggle, and recovery. He embraces vulnerability as he tells his story, explaining how Post Traumatic Stress Injuries influenced his relationship with himself and caused his marriage to deteriorate. It was clear to us and it will be to you as you listen that Doug began to explore the depths of his soul in an effort to recover from...

Lynn Lewis is the mother of a first responder. She shares with us about the tragic loss of her son to suicide, how she processed that loss, and how she managed to not be consumed by grief. Today Lynn coaches others through their own experiences with grief & loss. She talks about striving daily to keep moving forward, and the power of self love. She is the Co-Author of "Prepare for Purpose - Yo...

Nicole Ferry joins us on the podcast to discuss her 26 year career in law enforcement, including a decade working in sex crimes. Nicole shares with us about her experience with co-worker suicide, what happened when trauma begin to surface within her, within her department, and what she does today to advocate for first responder mental health, resilience, and suicide prevention. 

John and Christine join us to share their stories of themselves, as individuals, as first responders, and as a couple.   Both John and Christine discuss their pathways to becoming first responders, the toll that life and the job have taken on them, how trauma began to surface and the challenges that brought with it, how they were tested as a couple, how they got help, and how they persevered.  Tog...

Joe shares with us about his career in the fire service. He speaks openly about difficult calls and how he was affected by them. He talks about the progressive symptoms he began experiencing, having panic attacks, and how he eventually considered taking his own life. Amy shares her perspective.  She talks about how Joe's mental health affected her, their marriage, and their family.  Then Joe reach...

Chaplin JD Hebert provides spiritual guidance and support to first responders. He is a Chaplin with the Western Ma CISM Team, the State Police, and other departments. Chaplin JD has been a first responder himself since 1987 & currently works as a firefighter / EMT. This is Chaplin JD's second appearance on the podcast - he talks about the recent death by suicide of a first responder. He shares...

We are replaying this episode for some of our new listeners. In this episode we speak with first responder spouses, who are suicide loss survivors. They share with us what its like to love a first responder, how the job impacted their loved one & how that impacted their family. These woman showcase strength as they discuss loosing their husbands to suicide & the importance of support for f...

Mike MacCurtain joins us to discuss his career in the fire service. He shares about how that career began, the comradery and sense of belonging he felt early on, and how the calls he would go on didn't seem to bother him. Like we have heard from so many others, those calls were adding up, even if Mike wasn't aware of it at the time, and eventually his armor broke. Once that happened more calls beg...

Kenny Mitchell joins us & shares his story of purpose, service, struggle, and healing. Kenny was inspired to service after the terror attacks of 9/11, he talks openly about the strength of that calling, and how it ultimately led him to the fire service. Kenny talks about his career as a Firefighter & the many roles he had, which included critical incident stress management. He shares openl...

Anthony Landry serves on the board of directors for the Massachusetts Peer Support Network & his efforts were instrumental in helping to create the first Peer Support and Crisis Intervention Team comprised of 911 emergency dispatchers in Ma. Tony shares with us about his family history in first response, why he wanted to become one himself, and why he chose 911 dispatch as his way to serve. He...

Christopher Scallon is a retired LEO who had a 24 year career with the Norfolk Va Police Department. He holds degrees in psychology, criminal justice, and is certified in critical incident stress management. He currently serves as a Veterans representative, he is the founder of Survival Mindset training and consulting, and co-founder of Trauma Behind the Badge. Chris is also the founder and direct...

On this episode were joined by Charlette Fenstermaker & Lauren Folloni of the LOSS Team Plymouth County.  The LOSS Team Plymouth County was founded in 2021 - and after 2 years of preparation, launched in January of 2023. They are a volunteer group that works with police departments across Plymouth County to bring Hope and support to suicide loss survivors in the immediate wake of devastating l...

On this episode we're joined by Alicia Kelly & Chuck Looney, who own and operate Stretch N Motion, an assisted stretch and massage studio where they aim to maximize mobility, decrease pain, and help their clients feel better. Alicia & Chuck brought 2 of those clients with them, Brian Mingolelli (Quincy FD) & Chris Huling (Wildland FF), who share their own experiences about how this pro...