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Dr. Jim Guy
From the President
 Photo by Paul Sableman
I remember meeting my dad’s half-brother, Merle, when I was a boy. He was a really big guy and rather scary looking. When I learned he was a motorcycle cop in Milwaukee, I was both proud and worried. Even then, I understood that being a policeman in a major city was dangerous work.
Although I rarely saw Merle, I often asked my dad if he was still “alive” and working on the streets. This ended abruptly when he died of a heart attack a few years later. I recall my dad saying his early death was the result of the “pressures of the job.” That sad memory has stayed with me, along with enduring feelings of admiration and concern for those emergency responders who serve our cities. It’s such demanding work.
So, here I am, decades later, as part of a team that provides resilience and trauma recovery training for first responders across our country. I’m proud of our partnership with these community heroes. This has included working with police and fire in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Dallas, and Las Vegas after mass fatality shootings. Such events can leave them coping for years with unimaginable trauma. Some simply can’t continue and leave their profession. Others find ways to go on, sometimes hampered by the scars these events leave behind.
Through training, consulting, and counseling, we provide them with tools to build and maintain their resilience and heal old wounds. While we can’t eliminate the risks that come with the job, we are successfully equipping responders to be at their best when encountering emergencies.
Thanks for supporting our work. Your input, referrals, donations, and words of encouragement enable us to help a lot of fine people. The world needs resilient responders, and we aim to support each and every one.
- Jim
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