Delaware State Fire Commission Welcomes Mental Health and Wellness Administrator.

The Delaware State Fire Prevention Commission is pleased to announce the establishment of a new Mental Health & Resiliency Program. The program is in development and will help to meet the needs of our state's Firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). The Program is staffed by a licensed social worker who will provide First Responders with direct and confidential services, along with information and resources to help them to seek out healthy solutions for a balance of emotional, and physical health and well-being.

The Mental Health & Resiliency Program will strive to take away the fear and judgment that is associated with seeking emotional health support. Way too often, our Firefighters and EMTs struggle with self-care as they manage the care for others. Their emotional response to a situation is often ignored due to the stigma that is attached to receiving emotional health services and often is seen as a weakness. The goal of the program is to create a supportive atmosphere that will engage and help our emergency responders to understand that mental health and well-being are just as important as their physical health.

The Program will provide:

• Trauma-informed care offered to First Responders and their immediate family members.
• Confidential assistance with finding resources and information with short/long-term care for addiction, emotional health, and issues concerning post-traumatic stress and other work or personal issues.
• Crisis response to critical incidents involving Line of Duty Death or critical incidents.
• Provide information on burnout, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, grief, and other emotional and physical means to help minimize and provide individuals with alternative solutions.

Executive Director Sherry Lambertson stated, "Our goal is to foster an environment and to support our most valuable assets, our first responders in finding healthy alternatives to minimize stress/anxiety and help them to mitigate the effects of emergency response."

A Resource Information Guide is being developed so that all First Responders can access helpful and important information off our state website (24) twenty-four hours a day and there will be direct confidential assistance provided through our new mental health administrator.

The Delaware Fire Commission recently hired, Ms. Diane Glenn. She comes to the Commission with over thirty (30) years' experience. She recently retired from Dover Police Department and provided services to crime victims and survivors working with law enforcement. She is a licensed social worker, trained in Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) techniques through the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, (ICISF) in peer, individual and group facilitations. Her work also extends to assisting crime victims during mass critical incidents and has been trained through the National Organization of Crime Victims (NOVA). During the 911 attacks on the World Trade Center, within that first week, she responded as part of the Delaware CISM team and worked directly with fallen Firefighters' family members and worked closely with NYFD in the efforts to debrief the men and women who were affected by the tragic events.

For more information on upcoming services and assistance, please feel free to contact: [email protected] or at 302.241-2667.

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