'We see a lot of gruesome stuff': 5K run helps first responder mental health initiatives
It’s a tough job, and not everyone can do it.
“As a paramedic, we can't control what we see and sometimes it affects us more than we would like to admit,” said Chris Williams, a paramedic with London-Middlesex EMS.
So the Marathons for Mental Health initiative was created. It was designed to put more exposure on medics, and tell them it is okay to feel uncomfortable.
“After a long day of work, or after calls, you see really gruesome stuff. We liked the idea of letting medics know that it's okay to ask for help and then getting the help when it's needed,” Williams said.
Running has proven to improve mental health, reduce symptoms of depression, and increase stress resilience.
As part of the goal to look after the wellbeing of first responders, the first annual Marathons for Mental Health 5k run was created.
It sold out in three days.
Runners Avery Walton (left) and Meghan Grevers were among the 50 participants in the first annual Marathons for Mental Health 5k run April 13, 2024, at Gibbons Park in London, Ont. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)
“We've raised over $4,000 to donate to first responder mental health initiatives across the country,” said Matt Pusateri, a paramedic with London-Middlesex Ems and the run organizer. “All of our funds go towards I’VEGOTYOURBACK911, who was graciously able to show up today and support us.”
The I’VEGOTYOURBACK911 campaign, founded in 2014, is now in its 10th year. They draw awareness to the rise of mental health issues within the first responder community.
“The money raised today will go into our service dog program,” said Jill Foster, the campaign co-founder. “We've been running a service dog program for the last three years, where we fully fund a service dog for a first responder who's experiencing PTSD. We pay for the cost of the dog and then two years of training through the Phoenix Canine Initiative.”
Foster said a service dog costs between $20,000 to $22,000 and the money raised from the run will go directly into that program.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
OPP's mandatory alcohol screening during traffic stops 'not acceptable': CCLA
A spike in impaired driving-related collisions has caused Ontario’s provincial police to begin enforcing mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) at all traffic stops in the Greater Toronto Area -- a move one civil rights group says is ‘not acceptable.’
Maple Leafs down Bruins 2-1 to force Game 7
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday to force Game 7 in their first-round series.
Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call on plan to buy affair story
Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president.
Southern Alberta store broken into by burly black bear
Staff at a small southern Alberta office supply store were shocked to find someone had broken into the business last week, but they were even more confused when they discovered the culprit was a bear.
Captain sentenced to 4 years for criminal negligence in fiery deaths of 34 aboard scuba boat
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in custody and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel.
New scam targets Canada Carbon Rebate recipients
Fake text message and email campaigns trying to get money and information out of unsuspecting Canadian taxpayers have started circulating, just months after the federal government rebranded the carbon tax rebate the Canada Carbon Rebate.