H.O.P.E Beyond The Badge

Part 2 of a 2 Part Episode - Mark and Pat Freire are father and son, they are both LEO's, they are both compassionate towards first responder trauma, and passionate about first responder wellness. Mark Freire (Father) - is a retired Boston Police officer, and past director of the departments Peer Support Unit. He speaks openly about some of the calls and conditions that caused him to struggle, what he came to understand about himse...

Part 1 of a 2 Part Episode - Mark and Pat Freire are father and son, they are both LEO's, they are both compassionate towards first responder trauma, and passionate about first responder wellness. Mark Freire (Father) - is a retired Boston Police officer, and past director of the departments Peer Support Unit. He speaks openly about some of the calls and conditions that caused him to struggle, what he came to understand about himse...

Jim is an OEF/OIF Veteran who served 30 years in the Army and retired as a LTC, and a 25 year Veteran of the Boston Police Dept. Jim has worked patrol, as a bomb technician, in sexual assault investigations, and as an operations supervisor. Jim talks openly about his own struggles, personal and family problems, the challenges of being a single parent, alcohol abuse, and the many friends and coworkers he has lost to suicide. He shar...

Josh Goldberg is the CEO of Bolder Crest Foundation - A nationally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on ensuring the military, veteran, and first responder communities can live great lives in the aftermath of trauma.

Boulder Crest Foundation is the home and global leader in the development of Post-traumatic Growth (PTG). They exist as an organization to transform the way that our society thinks, feels, and acts when it comes t...

Dr. Gilmartin joins us on the podcast, Dr Gilmartin is a behavioral scientist specializing in law enforcement and public safety related issues. He is the author of the book Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement: A Guide for Officers and Their Families. He previously spent twenty years working in law enforcement in Tucson, Arizona. During his tenure he supervised the Hostage Negotiations Team and the Behavioral Sciences Unit. He is...

Molly O'Neil joins us and shares about her husband Chris. She talks about meeting him when she was still in high school, going to the same college, and falling in love. She talks about starting a family together, and how Chris lived and loved to be a father. She describes her experience when Chris began to struggle, and what was going on in those days and weeks leading up to his loss. Molly also shares with us what life was like fo...

Mike, Tom, and Jim come together and join us on the podcast to share about their careers in Law Enforcement, why they chose to serve in the first place, some of the critical incidents they have been involved in, the impacts those incidents had on them both professionally and personally, and the ways in which they offer service's and support to their fellow LEO's and each other.

These men have all experienced their own criti...

Bryan Mokrisky joins us to share his journey of service, as a soldier, in law enforcement, and now as the Public Safety Wellness Coordinator for the town of Stoughton Ma.   Bryan talks about serving in the Army as a Military Police Soldier, his time spent with the Sherriff's Dept as a corrections officer, serving as a  Police Officer in the town he grew up in, and the valuable lessons he learned along the way.   While working i...

Jason joins us to discuss his career of service, the lessons he learned along the way, and what he's doing now to inform the next generation of first responders. He is a Navy Veteran, retired NYC police officer with over 20 years of experience in forensic and criminal investigations, and was a member of the NYPD Peer Support Team. He co-authored the book "Living Blue" along with Barbera Rubel - which focuses on police...

Devin Cole is a retired Police Officer, First Responder Wellness Advocate, and Public Speaker. He discusses his career which spanned over 30 years and included roles in patrol, gang enforcement, community outreach for addiction programs, K9 officer, and attachment to the departments SWAT team. Davin explains how he suffered an on duty injury, how that injury led him to develop an addiction to opiates, how that addiction impacted hi...

Chris Fields joins Linda and Jay to discuss his long career in the fire service and the work he's doing now to educate the next generation of first responders that its okay to not be okay - and its okay to talk about that.

Chris shares openly about his mindset as a new recruit & how that changed over time. He describes the impact of loosing co-workers, provides a vivid description of the of the Oklahoma city bombing sc...

Dr. Baumgart is a licensed psychologist who is board certified in police and public safety psychology. She is an author, speaks publicly about the challenges police officers face when transitioning into retirement, is on staff as a psychologist within a law enforcement organization, and is married to a now retired police officer. Dr Baumgart shares with us some of the challenges that began to surface within her marriage, what it wa...

Police Chief Christopher Workman began his career in the fire service before transitioning into policing. He has a combined total of over 3 decades working in first response, he is an author, public speaker, founder of the Deep Blu Project, and podcast host. Chief Workman shares openly about how the job unwittingly influenced his personality, his personal life, his professional life, and every relationship he had. He talks about...

Doug joins us and shares his personal journey of service, stress, struggle, and recovery. He embraces vulnerability as he tells his story, explaining how Post Traumatic Stress Injuries influenced his relationship with himself and caused his marriage to deteriorate. It was clear to us and it will be to you as you listen that Doug began to explore the depths of his soul in an effort to recover from PTSI. He talks about his wife appro...

Lynn Lewis is the mother of a first responder. She shares with us about the tragic loss of her son to suicide, how she processed that loss, and how she managed to not be consumed by grief. Today Lynn coaches others through their own experiences with grief & loss. She talks about striving daily to keep moving forward, and the power of self love. She is the Co-Author of "Prepare for Purpose - Your Invitation to the Next Level," a...

Joe shares with us about his career in the fire service. He speaks openly about difficult calls and how he was affected by them. He talks about the progressive symptoms he began experiencing, having panic attacks, and how he eventually considered taking his own life. Amy shares her perspective. She talks about how Joe's mental health affected her, their marriage, and their family. Then Joe reached out for help. Joe and Amy expla...

Chaplin JD Hebert provides spiritual guidance and support to first responders. He is a Chaplin with the Western Ma CISM Team, the State Police, and other departments. Chaplin JD has been a first responder himself since 1987 & currently works as a firefighter / EMT. This is Chaplin JD's second appearance on the podcast - he talks about the recent death by suicide of a first responder. He shares with us how losing this first resp...