EP first responders Peer Support Program offers emotional help

A new study conducted by the International Association of Fire Fighters reveals first responders experience PTSD at a similar rate as combat veterans.

In El Paso, there is a Peer Mentor Program open to all first responders to help them deal with traumatic situations.

“It’s difficult to take that home and not have an outlet to release it,” said Claudia Nunez, who works in the El Paso 9-1-1 call center and is also a Peer Support Mentor.

Nunez says, that as a Peer Support Mentor, she and the other mentors help first responders deal with traumatic crime scenes and accidents. “We try to alleviate some of the trauma they experience,” adds Nunez.

A debriefing was held after the the Lower Valley mobile home fire that killed three children September 23, 2016.

“We do see a lot of death, we do see a lot of trauma, we are exposed to a lot more than the average El Pasoan,” says Alex Miranda a Fire Fighter with the El Paso FD and Peer Support Mentor.

When a scene is especially traumatic the Peer Support Mentors are called in and a debriefing is held after everything is over.

During this confidential debriefing, all the first responders at the scene are free to let out all there emotions and talk through what they saw and how it impacted them.

According to the mentors, it really helps lift morale. “I saw the difference that it made of the people when they first walked in to when they walked out,” said Miranda.

First responders are not required to attend the debriefing, it is simply open to them if they would like to use the service.