Wounded Warriors Canada will help to provide mental health supports to Yukon firefighters and their families
The Yukon Fire Marshal’s Office is partnering with a charity to help provide mental health support services to the volunteer and municipal firefighters, and their families, in the Yukon.
Matthew Pegg, speaking on behalf of Wounded Warriors Canada, announced the partnership on Aug. 21 as part of the Fire Rescue Yukon symposium taking place in Whitehorse.
The partnership will provide access to “a suite of services and a suite of resources that are offered through Wounded Warriors.” The services include proactive resiliency training as well as recovery resources for after one has encountered a traumatic event.
There are around 280 firefighters working in volunteer and municipal fire halls around the territory, according to Julia Duchesne, a spokesperson with Yukon department of community services. These firefighters respond to around 1,300 calls annually, she said.
“Those supports, are there for all of you, for all, for now, through this partnership, for all of the first responders and public safety and all of the fire service personnel across the Yukon Territory, and your families,” Pegg said at the announcement of the partnership.
Wildland Fire Management, however, is not party to this partnership, as it is a separate organization, said Yukon Fire Marshall Kiara Adams.
“Our goal, obviously, prevention, resilience, education and early intervention, with the goal of staying healthy and getting healthy and being able to serve a long career.”
There are two pathways of access for firefighters looking to access the services, Pegg said.
There’s the zero-cost stream, which is gives firefighters and their families free access funded by charitable donations to Wounded Warriors, he said.
“Oftentimes, there can be a wait list because there isn’t an unlimited amount of charitable money,” Pegg said.
The second stream would be coordinated through the Fire Marshall’s Office, Pegg said.
“These are programs that can be brought to the Yukon if there is funding, if there’s either local, municipal or department funding, or if there’s Yukon government funding, there are direct access programs available on a fee-for-service basis,” he said.
“If the association or the Yukon government wanted to bring a particular program here, all of that gets worked out, our team will work out the cost. It all operates just on a cost recovery basis.”
Yukon Fire Marshall Kiara Adams said the partnership itself has no cost attached.
The Association of Yukon Firefighters and Chiefs has criticized the Yukon government for issues with funding fire departments in the territory, as well as the quality of personal protective equipment.
Adams said that the issues of resourcing fire departments and providing mental health care are separate.
“We are still continuing to work at improving the resources that are available to us as a fire service,” Adams said. “But I think regardless of whether we have a really well-resourced fire service or a fire service that is needing resources, that doesn’t change the mental health impact to our responders.”
Adams said she meets monthly with fire chiefs in the territory, and she will use these meetings to help determine what services may be valuable for firefighters.
Pegg said that there is a “broad spectrum of modalities” through which the services can be accessed.
There are online resources, he said, as well as in-person resources, from focused treatments and recovery programs to education for resiliency.
“So there it is not a one-size-fits-all solution,” he said.
The services are available now for firefighters in the territory, Pegg said.
Contact Talar Stockton at talar.stockton@yukon-news.com
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