H.O.P.E Beyond The Badge

Jess Flores joins us on the podcast. Jess shares with us about her career as a police officer, she talks about working for different departments, the departmental cultures regarding first responder mental health, being a woman in law enforcement, the communities she served, and some of the critical incidents she was involved in. Jess's career ended prematurely after she suffered an injury, followe...

On this weeks episode we are joined by a group of First Responders from Carver Ma who have joined together, combining efforts and agencies to ensure that their First Responder Family is taken care of. Chief Michael Ryan (EMS), Adam Lauzon (Carver FD), and Joshua Mcdermott (Carver PD), have partnered together to develop a multi agency First Responder Wellness Program within their community, improvi...

Cathy & Javier Bustos are retired police officers with 4 decades of experience, they are also husband and wife, and they are That Peer Support Couple. They join us on the podcast and share about their careers in law enforcement, some of the critical incidents they have been involved in, & how those incidents affected them individually and as a couple. A time came where they realized that t...

On this weeks episode we have Selina Rossman. Selina has been working EMS for nearly 2 decades. She discusses what led her into the field, some of the more difficult calls she has been on, & how those calls affected her. Selina shares that at one point her life became so difficult she considered ending it - She also shares with us what kept her here, what helped her begin to heal, her passion...

On this episode we host the Volunteers of America's Mass Bay Vet's Center (MBVC). We're joined by Angela Eberle & Kyle Palstrome of the MBVC staff - they explain how the program functions, what supports and resources are available for their veteran residents, and some details about an exciting new program opening up in Plymouth. We're also joined by Melvyn Blanchard, a Vietnam veteran and resi...

Adam joins us on the podcast and shares how he was drawn to police work from an early age, he discusses his time serving in the Army's MP Corps, getting his dream job as a cop in the town where he lived, his career in law enforcement and the many positions he's held over the years.  Adam also shares with us how he quickly became desensitized to dead bodies, how the job began to change him slowly,...

Donn Bradley joins us from California , we discuss the work he does as a mental health clinician for first responders. He shares with us about his prior career in law enforcement and the mental health challenges he experienced as a result of duty trauma. Donn also shares with us his own reluctance to get help when he was struggling, how those types of cultural norms are created, and the work he do...

Bernice joins us and shares her story of becoming a police officer and how she came to pride herself on her ability to engage with and support the community. Bernice was passionate, and her first few years on the department were promising - but then something changed, and depression began to set in. Listen to this episode to hear how Bernice navigated her mental health challenges, how her departme...

State Representative Steven Xiarhos joins us on the podcast and shares about his 40 years working in law enforcement. He also talks about his childhood, and discusses grief & loss - including the loss of his son Nicholas who was serving in Afghanistan & the LODD of Officer Sean Gannon.  Rep X also shares about the importance of departmental leadership fostering a culture that supports firs...

Donn Bradley joins us from California , we discuss the work he does as a mental health clinician for first responders. He shares with us about his prior career in law enforcement and the mental health challenges he experienced as a result of duty trauma. Donn also shares with us his own reluctance to get help when he was struggling, how those types of cultural norms are created, and the work he do...

Reverend Royce Raymond joins us & shares about his time as an Army Chaplin & as a prison Chaplin. We discuss life in the military, and in the prison system, along with duty, grief, friendship, mentorship, peer support, and chaplaincy. Reverend Royce discusses dealing with loss and grief in his own life, he talks about his upbringing, his family, his inspiration to join the military, the tr...

Chief Matt Shobert has over 30 years of experience in the fire service, which includes working as a Chief in both California & Arizona. Chief Shobert shares with us about his upbringing, a family history of substance abuse, how he wanted better for himself, and how living a life of service to others as a firefighter changed his life for the better. Matt & Tami also discuss the bad calls he...

Autumn Clifford joins us on the podcast and shares about her lifelong journey with martial arts, her career in law enforcement, the pain and isolation she experienced after suffering a career ending back injury 6 years into that career, and how an intervention from her mom helped her rediscover herself and pick herself back up during her most difficult time. Since then, Autumn has built a professi...

Heather Colangelo joins us on the podcast & shares her experience as a law enforcement officer, how she felt she had to prove herself in a predominantly male profession, and how her promising career was ended prematurely; the result of an on-duty injury.  However, Heather continues to serve. Today, she has a private practice in Hanover called Crosswinds Counseling, where she works with first r...

Keith Hanks joins us on the podcast and shares openly about the purpose he found early on in his career in the fire service, the trauma(s) that shaped his life, & the impact that declining mental health had on his state of well-being.  Keith discusses duty trauma, trauma in his personal life, substance abuse, loss, grief, suicidality, a diagnosis of complex PTSD, & how through it all he wa...

Kelsey Gunther joins us on the podcast this week. Kelsey shares her story of childhood trauma, how she has felt like a helper going all the back to when she was a child on the soccer field, what it was like to join the EMS community as a senior in high school & how some of the calls quickly began to effect her. Kelsey eventually became a dispatcher as well, she discusses what that was like &am...

Cindy Chesna - Widow of Weymouth Police Sgt Michael Chesna (EOW 7.15.2018) joins us on the podcast.  Cindy shares with us who Mike was in life, what it was like for her to lose the love of her life, to grieve that loss publicly, while guiding and mothering her children through the loss of their father.  Cindy also shares how she was able to get through that time, how she was able to begin healing,...

Carolyn Forde joins us on the podcast to share about her long career in EMS, which began right after high school. She openly discusses how over time the calls she was responding to began to add up and how that affected her. Carolyn also shares about using alcohol to cope with those duty traumas, how loosing a close friend and co-worker to suicide caused her to reevaluate her circumstances and beha...

Chaplin J.D Hebert joins us to share about his career in first response, beginning with working for ski patrol & earning his EMT, followed by decades working various roles in EMS & the fire service. He also shares with us how he was called to serve through Chaplaincy, CISM, & how he provides compassionate care to first responders during their own time of need.  Currently, Chaplain Hebe...

Doug & Karen Monda join us to talk about Survive First - Where there mission is to reduce first responder suicide through quality education, peer support, and mental health and wellness resources, while fostering a greater sense of community and awareness amongst first responders and their supporters. Doug - President, Founder, and Chairman at Survive First - discusses his time as a profession...

Darren joins us on the podcast to share about his career in the fire service, how decades of service and duty trauma impacted him shortly into his retirement, how he began on a hearty pursuit to understand his own mental health, trauma recovery, and how he's using what he learned to help others. 

Debbie joins us on the podcast to discuss her time in the military & career in law enforcement as a 911 dispatcher. She shares with us about responding to the LA riots, some of the more difficult calls she's had as a dispatcher & how those calls impacted her, including an incident where officers were ambushed & one of them was killed. Debbie also shares with us how a 26 plus year caree...

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. 

Cassie Sexton joins us and shares her story of going from a grocery store into a life of law enforcement. She talks about working parking enforcement, in the city jail, as a dispatcher, and responding to a mass shooting incident early in her career. As the years went on Cassie would also have to deal with the loss of co-workers, including co-worker suicide, all while she was quietly considering su...

Wayne Hancock joins us and shares his experience as a call firefighter & his career in law enforcement. He talks about prison violence, suicide, and how he can still remember the sounds and the smells associated with some of those instances. Wayne shares how duty trauma impacted him, his journey to sobriety and trauma recovery, where he is at in his life today, and the work he does to help oth...