H.O.P.E Beyond The Badge

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 ...

Rich Creamer - A native of Chelsea Ma, is a Navy Veteran, and retired Sergeant with 24 years of service with the Norfolk VA police dept. During his career Rich worked homicide, gangs, served on the FBI's violent crimes task force, and in the training division. He is a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of officer wellness and peer support, and served as a consultant for the IACP's officer wellness and safety initiative. Ri...

Tommy is a 30 year fire service veteran, lieutenant, and mental health advocate who has dedicated his life to changing the culture of public service. After battling depression, PTSD, and anxiety from years of service on the front line, Tommy now uses his voice to break the stigma around mental health for first responders. He authored the Book "Unseen Battles - The Price of Duty in a Life of Trauma and Sacrifice". He is the founder...

Deputy Commissioner Matt Walsh of the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Joins us on this weeks podcast! Matt is a Weymouth Native who takes us on a journey from growing up in Weymouth, traveling to Florida to pursue a career in Law Enforcement, his early career including an officer involved shooting and how that impacted him, his rise to leadership, and his experience developing, implementing, and participating in officer wel...

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...

Meghann has been working in law enforcement for 24 years & currently serves as her organizations first wellness coordinator. Meghann's partner Kelly has been working with youth and families for over 20 years, and is the current executive director of Caminos programs in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

In this episode Meghann and Kelly take us on a journey that involves trauma, struggle, insight, growth, and servi...

Chief Frank Fredrickson is a retired Police Chief of the Yarmouth Police Department, the current director of governmental affairs for the Massachusetts Fraternal Order of Police, and the executive director of the New England Association of Chief's of Police.

Chief Fredrickson talks about coming from a LEO family, how he entered a life of service, the first call that had an impact on him, what it was like to lead his department throu...

Jimmy Ward joins us to talk about his career in law enforcement, and what he's doing now to help his fellow LEO's and first responders. Jimmy is a former Senior Trooper with the Maryland State Police, where he served for over 15 years—more than 90% of that time focused on narcotics enforcement. His work placed him on the front lines of complex investigations, serving as a Task Force Officer with both Homeland Security Inves...

Greg Wilcox is a suicide loss survivor of a police officer . Greg shares the story of losing his husband Joe Nagle to suicide (EOW 8/4/2019). He also shares the story of falling in love, witnessing the decline of a loved one over time, and the red flags he is aware of now, that he was unaware of in real time.

Greg also discusses how he was able to pick the pieces back up following the loss of his husband, the work he does with ...

Chris Moore Joins us on the podcast. Chris is a highly respected Fire Captain on the Chesapeake Va FD, a National keynote speaker, and one of the most influential voices in the movement to transform how first responder agencies approach mental health, wellness, and suicide prevention. Chris shares with us how years on the job began to effect his moods, behaviors, and relationships. He speaks openly about the lowest points in his ...

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...