H.O.P.E Beyond The Badge

Madison is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor & the owner of Madison Elie Counseling where she provides online trauma therapy for adults across Maryland & Pennsylvania. Coming from a First Responder Family, Madison has been working almost exclusively with First Responders, Veterans, and other professionals in high stress roles since 2018. Her work focuses on helping clients recover from trauma, reduce burnout, and r...

Fran Graham is an International crisis response & trauma specialist, instructor & consultant with proven emergency management skills. Proficient team builder & strategic planner, with an emphasis in First Responder Peer Support & Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM).

Before Fran was a trauma specialist, before she was an expert in peer support, and before she was an international crisis response leader, Fran w...

Our regular listeners and followers might notice that this episode is being released on a Wednesday, where our weekly episodes are typically released on Fridays.

The reason for that is because SGT Alex G. Kokoros died by suicide on October 29th 2018. Today marks the 7th anniversary of his loss.

So this episode is in Memory of Alex - with his Family in mind.

This episode is also a tribute to Alex's friends & fellow off...

Jeff Dill is a retired Fire Captain , the founder of Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance (FBHA), and the behavioral health administrator for Las Vegas Fire and Rescue. At FBHA they hold workshops to educate firefighters, EMS personnel, and dispatchers on behavioral health, moral injury, and suicide prevention. They also track data on firefighter, EMS, and dispatcher suicide, host retreats for suicide loss survivors, and so much ...

Matthew and Elizabeth Fiorenza join us on the podcast .

Matty and Liz are husband and wife, they are both strong advocates for first responder and family mental health and well-being.

Matty is a retired firefighter paramedic with 22 years of service. His journey into the realm of mental health advocacy began a decade into his career when he began facing personal battles with anxiety, stress, and depression, which ultimately led to ...

Retired Police Chief Neil Gang joins us on the podcast.

Chief Gang is a nationally recognized Law Enforcement Leader with over 36 years of service, he has a reputation for innovative leadership, transformational change, and a deep commitment to organizational wellness.

Chief Gang discusses his career in law enforcement, he openly shares about losing a friend and fellow officer early on in his career to suicide. In the wake of that lo...

Carrie Mathews joins us on the podcast.

Carrie is a police officer from from the Chicago Police Department, and comes from a family of service in law enforcement. Mental health has always been a focus of Carries. However, when her father - a retired officer himself - died by suicide, Carrie became an outspoken advocate for mental health in first response, and has become known for bringing attention to "the other side of suicide...

Katie Carlson joins us on the podcast.

Katie is the director of wellness initiatives and peer support team coordinator for the Marion County Sheriffs office in Indianapolis Indiana. She also serves as an instructor at multiple law enforcement academies where she teaches meditation, yoga, breath work, and crisis intervention strategies to public safety professionals, with a focus on nervous system regulation and trauma recovery.

Kati...

Donna Georgiana joins us on the podcast.

Donna lost her son Mitchell - a police officer, to suicide. After Mitchell's loss, and based on one of the last text messages he had sent, Donna felt a sense of duty to keep his name alive, and his memory served, so she founded the non profit "Gotcha Covered Blankets".

While she has always been involved with church and community, Donna now focuses on this foundation to keep her sons name aliv...

Retired Fire Chief David Rhodes joins us on the podcast.

David is a 39 year veteran of the fire service retired from the Atlanta Gorgia fire dept. He currently works for Clarion events as the Vice President of Education for Clarion Fire Rescue Brands, he is the Editor in Chief for Fire Engineering Magazine, and the educational director for the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC). He is a Chief Elder for the Gorgia Smoke D...

Mike Morgan joins us on the podcast.

Mike transitioned from working as an accountant to a 30 year career of service in law enforcement. In this episode Mike reflected on those years, he spoke about his love for the job, shares with us about some of the difficult calls he responded to, including the incident that was most impactful for him. He shares his experience of coming to recognize that he had been affected by trauma, the steps...

Chris Michael is a retired Police Captain with 25 years of experience in law enforcement in a large Metro area Atlanta department. When he retired Chris was the departments peer support team commander. Chris discusses his career with us and some of the critical incidents he experienced, to include 2 officer involved shootings, his partner and backup being shot and wounded, being involved in an on duty fatal car accident, and anothe...

Elizabeth Bartholomew joins us on the podcast.

Liz worked as a police records clerk in Batavia Illinois  where she met Joe Bartholomew, a paid on-call firefighter, they married in 1980.  Joe was hired as a full time Firefighter in 1986.  While their daughters were young Liz was able to be a stay at home mom.  Later she drove a school bus part-time in Naperville, Illinois, became Band Booster President and was on the coaching staff ...

Regan Faulk joined us on the podcast and shared the story of meeting her husband Kevin in collage, falling in love, starting a life together which included marriage, the birth of their twin boys, and Kevin joining the Philadelphia police department. She spoke about how much he loved the job in the beginning, she spoke about the changes she witnessed in his mood and personality over time, the impact those changes had on their family...

Erin Maccabee joins us on the podcast.

Erin is an ICF trained integration coach who specializes in supporting First Responders, their partners, and departments. Erin has nearly a decade of experience, with almost half that time focused on trauma exposed populations. Erin is the creator of the Pressure System - A whole human framework for navigating high stress environments, and The Connection Code - A self guided program that helps ...

Part 2 of a 2 part episode.

Allan Garcia is a retired police officer from the Middletown Rhode Island Police Dept. He joins us on the podcast and shares his story of growing up in a seaside community, being raised in a first responder family, his time in the military, and how he became a police officer.

Allans career included service as a DARE officer, Uniformed Patrol, Field Training Officer, School Resource Officer, SWAT Team Membe...

Part 1 of a 2 part episode.

Allan Garcia is a retired police officer from the Middletown Rhode Island Police Dept. He joins us on the podcast and shares his story of growing up in a seaside community, being raised in a first responder family, his time in the military, and how he became a police officer.

Allans career included service as a DARE officer, Uniformed Patrol, Field Training Officer, School Resource Officer, SWAT Team Membe...

Meg Hawkins and Erik Provow join us on the podcast.

Meg is a dedicated police officer with over 21 years of

law enforcement experience, and the proud wife of Eric - a firefighter/paramedic and retired combat veteran who lives with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Eric’s military career spanned two decades, split between the

Marine Corps and the Air Force. He served in elite units including Marine Recon, Force Recon, and ...

Meg Hawkins and Erik Provow join us on the podcast.

Meg is a dedicated police officer with over 21 years of

law enforcement experience, and the proud wife of Eric - a firefighter/paramedic and retired combat veteran who lives with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Eric’s military career spanned two decades, split between the

Marine Corps and the Air Force. He served in elite units including Marine Recon, Force Recon, and ...