City Wide Success Story With City of Irving's Public Safety Wellness Unit, Dr. Betancourt

Hosts and PTSI Resilience Trainers John Salerno and Samantha Horwitz talk with the creator of the City of Irving, TX Public Safety Wellness Unit, Mildred Betancourt, PH.D on a A Badge of Honor Podcast.

Mildred Betancourt, PH.D works tirelessly to ensure the Police officers in Irving, TX have acces to mental health services. Her work was so successful that the City created a program where all first responders can seek help without the stigma. The Public Safety Wellness Unit (PSWU) ensures mental health services are readily available for Irving's first responders 24/7. The goal is to provide early intervention and stabilization shortly after a critical incident occurs to reduce stress-related symptoms.

The primary purpose of the program is to ensure the safety and quality of life - both on the job and in their personal lives.

First responders are routinely called to emergencies to rescue people. They often witness horrific events and yet, show up to work every day to do it all over again. These experiences can lead to mental health issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and in the worst cases, suicide.

This PSWU oversees the peer support programs, provides crisis intervention 24/7, critical incident debriefings, training, crisis counseling, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Yoga for First Responders (YFFR), biofeedback / neurofeedback, case management, consultations and trainings.

A Badge of Honor offers workshops to first responders across the nation, working with mental health liasons and critical incident management teams for Post Traumatic Stress Injury Recovery, wellness and resilience. A Badge of Honor says, "We Hear You," and wants you to know you are not alone.

A Badge of Honor Podcast is brought to you by:
Carry In Texas, https://www.carryintexas.com 469-232-7894
OBBM Network Podcasts, https://obbmnetworkpodcasts.com 214-714-0495