In March of 2022, Heartland Education, Inc., formed the first of its kind, multi-agency multi-discipline, peer support team.  The team was trained to offer Oklahoma first responders the mental health help that they need and deserve.  The team is activated and deploys whenever a first responder, whether that may be a dispatch, law enforcement, fire or EMS professionals need support after a traumatic event.

Since its conception last year, the peer support team has been overwhelmed with first responder needs and requests. In one short calendar year, the team has touched 313 first responders individually, hosted 11 group debriefings, been requested for assistance out of state, and referred 32 individuals to Licensed Professional Counselors.  The training course that was hosted for the pilot peer support team was held in Oklahoma City February 28th-March 2nd, 2022.  On the evening of March 2nd, the same day the team graduated from the course, they were immediately activated and deployed to a fire department for a critical incident. 337 days have passed since that first activation, 311 individuals assisted, averaging to nearly 1 person a day.  To put this immense number in perspective, the peer support team is comprised of 21 individuals, that in addition to their full time job, volunteer their time to dedicate themselves almost every single day of the past year responding to mental health emergencies. 

This team is funded strictly from grants and donations, which are used to train and equip the team as well as provide funding to first responders who may be financially restricted from accessing professional mental health help.  The demand for mental health assistance is not decreasing and at this time our team has a specific need for more members whom will require in-depth initial training.  

The Heartland Education, Inc., Peer Support Team will be hosting their 2nd annual cornhole tournament and silent auction in partnership with, Heroes in the Heartland; Oklahoma's premier first responder conference.  It is a four day conference that brings dispatchers, fire departments, law enforcement, and EMS together for valuable training, lectures, and skills opportunities.   The tournament will be hosted on Wednesday, June 21st, in Norman, OK.  Last year, our team was fortunate to raise over $4,000 for the team and the hope is to be just as successful if not more, this year. 

Until now, professional mental health has been financially inaccessible for our first responders, but these donations will change that.  We sincerely appreciate all assistance in helping us raise funds via a donation to our silent auction to continue our support of our own Oklahoma first responders.  Thank you for helping us, “save a life today!”