Episode 39: Tim Gardiner - USMC Vet, Former Police Officer, Founding Member of "Operation Righteous Valor" and Mental Health Advocate for First Responders and Veterans

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, trauma informed and certified Life and Wellness Coach for First Responders, Emergency Services Members, Spouses and Loved Ones.

In this episode, Erin speaks with Tim Gardiner, a USMC Veteran and National Guard member, where he served as a Landing Specialist, a former Law Enforcement officer of 13 years with Birmingham PD and current Probationary Parole Officer with a State Bureau.

Tim was and continues to be an advocate for the mental health and wellness of his members, implementing an officer safety and wellness program and establishing a peer support team that catered to over 1000 members at BPD. He provides initial and continuing education on relevant mental health subjects in classes he teaches all over the country, such as trauma, suicide prevention, resilience and compassion fatigue.

Tim is also a founding member and chairman of the board of non-profit organisation "Operation Righteous Valor", whose mission is to assist Veteran, First Responders and their families in a time of crisis.

Tim talks to Erin about how he ended up joining the Marines and what his role as a Landing Support Specialist entailed, how he drifted a little after leaving the service and ended up performing a few First Responder and security roles before landing in Law Enforcement.

He shares about the time he was a little down on his luck and a kind police officer showed him compassion and support when he really needed it, an encounter that would go on to shape the way he conducted himself throughout most of his career, especially in his position as a SRO. He even discusses a time in his life when he endured his own suicidal thoughts and ideation, which has greatly helped him to empathise and show compassion to those he's interacted with since.

Tim shares about the grief he experienced along with his police department after the loss of a number of colleagues to suicide and a good friend in a LODD. It fueled an already burning passion to implement appropriate mental health resources that he had already been asking for and to be involved in the welfare of his friends and colleagues in a real, impactful way.

Tim shares how "Operation Righteous Valor" came to be, what their mission is in terms of providing hope, assistance and resources to Veterans, First Responders and their families in a time of crisis and what his ultimate vision is for the future.

This was an absolutely wonderful conversation to have, with someone who cares deeply about the mental health and wellness of this population and has put in the work to be a resource and help as many people as possible, either in his capacity as a police officer, a veteran, a parole officer and with the non-profit Operation Righteous Valor. Tim is kind, introspective, honest and reflective of the beautiful essence of southern hospitality.

You can follow Operation Righteous Valor on Facebook under their name or head to their website ⁠www.oprv.org⁠ to check out their next fundraising event or donate to a very worthy cause. We both hope you enjoy listening to this episode!

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