Putting PTSD Out of Business, by Susan Farren, Founder of First Responders Resiliency, Inc.
Our speaker for October 24, 2024, was Susan Farren of First Responders Resiliency, Inc., a 501c3 founded to combat stress and PTSD for first responders. Susan was born and raised on a farm in Schellville and got hooked on emergency response when she took an EMT class at the JC. She ultimately became a paramedic and worked in West Oakland, Santa Rosa, and San Francisco. Her experiences as a paramedic, including responding to drug and gun violence, as well as her own personal medical and family experiences, led her to retire from emergency service, sell her home, and dedicate her career to helping first responders.
No one teaches first responders that the incredible stresses they face on the job can result in their own severe mental and physical problems. First responders’ life expectancy can be up to 15 years less than civilians. They have a 40% higher chance of suicide. Their divorce rate is 20% higher than the U.S. national average. Susan herself experienced an unwanted/unexpected divorce 10 years ago, which left her with five children and no medical insurance of her own. Shortly after the divorce she was mistakenly diagnosed with kidney cancer and told that she didn’t have long to live. When the doctors figured out that she wasn’t suffering from cancer, one doctor told her that they see a lot of organ cancer in first responders. She started researching first responders’ medical issues and decided to start First Responders Resiliency to help first responders deal with the problems caused by their constant exposure to emergencies.
During her career, first responders generally called their stress-related problems “burn out.” Their treatment choices were limited, and included medication (including self-medication with drugs and alcohol), debriefings, retirement, and peer counseling. One problem with this sort of treatment is that first responders can retraumatize themselves when re-telling their stories. Susan decided that new treatment options should be investigated. She sold her home 3 weeks before the 2017 fires and started First Responders Resiliency in 2018. She started with a few speaking events for agencies she’d worked with in the past and now runs a non-profit in which over 10,000 first responders have been trained. She recently signed her first federal government training and speaking contract, has contracts and engagements with Cal Fire, and a multi-year contract with workers compensation insurers. The company serves active and retired first responders, including fire, emergency medical personnel, law enforcement, dispatch and emergency room personnel. It provides a proactive, science-based approach to physiological and psychological effects of stress and trauma in first responders and their families. First Responders Resiliency is in the process of building its own Resiliency Center in Cotati, which will be used for training and providing access to wellness and support services.
Thank you, Susan, for the presentation and for all the wonderful work you do on behalf of first responders. Good luck on the new Resiliency Center!
