Episode 25: Erin Jane - May 2024 Check In, Heavy Start To The Year

Welcome to I Will Hold Space For Your Darkness; a First Responder Mental Health Podcast hosted by Erin Jane.

A former Australian Police Officer and Detective, wife of an American Firefighter, previous crisis counsellor for a suicide prevention organization and current CISM trained, certified Life and Wellness Coach for First Responders, Emergency Services Members, Spouses and Loved Ones.

In this episode, Erin jumps on to talk about the incredibly heavy start to this year for First Responders, especially those in the Law Enforcement community, with the news of police officers being shot and killed in the line of duty populating our news feeds almost daily.

It strikes at the heart of anyone who has ever worn the uniform and Erin talks about the heartache, as the spouse of a fellow First Responder, of how difficult it can be to watch your partner leave for work, not knowing if they'll return and how fearful and anxiety inducing it must be to be a wife/husband/spouse/partner of anyone in Law Enforcement right now.

She discusses the number of officers lost so far this year, not only in the line of duty, but also to suicide and shares some data and statistics from the National Fraternal Order of Police and Blue Help.

Erin segways into the fact that May is Mental Health Awareness Month and talks about how crucially important it is for First Responders and Emergency Services members to take their mental health seriously, given all that they see, do and are exposed to. She encourages everyone listening to take this month as an opportunity to evaluate what kind of coping skills, strategies and mechanisms you have at your disposal, whether you feel like you're in need of them or not, as the more you have in your "tool kit" should the need arise, the better. Be proactive in knowing what services are available and even try adding a new coping skill into the mix this month!

Lastly, Erin talks about The Overwatch Collective's "50 Miles To Memorial Day Challenge", which she's participating in this year. It's encouraging people to walk, run, hike or ruck 50 miles/80.4km before Memorial Day and share it on social media, in order to raise awareness for their organisation, which funds therapy and coaching services, purely through donations alone, for First Responders, Military Veterans, their spouses and families. An incredibly worthy cause and Erin will be posting her progress and updates on Instagram and Facebook all month, with links to donate should you be in a position to.

We hope you enjoy this episode. It certainly discusses some heavy topics, but Erin felt the need to jump on, talk about and acknowledge the losses rippling through the First Responder, and in particular, Law Enforcement community right now.

This is where you can find information Erin referenced in the episode, as to the names and numbers of officers shot and killed in the line of duty:

https://national.fop.net/reportshotkilled512024#page=7

This is where you can see the information in regards to the losses of Law Enforcement to suicide that Erin mentioned:

https://bluehelp.org/honor-wall/

If you'd like to donate to The Overwatch Collective and help fund therapy and coaching services for First Responders and Military Veterans, please follow this link: https://www.theoverwatchcollective.com/donate

Please feel free to reach out if you'd like a topic discussed, would like to be a guest or are interested in receiving coaching services from Erin Jane.

Email: [e-mail]

Website: ⁠https://www.erinjanecoaching.com/⁠

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You can watch the episodes as video on YouTube here: https://youtube.com/@Erin-Jane-Coaching?si=XI8q0z3mhmzO_a7_

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