I’m Brittany Thomas-Vestal, LCSW

My husband and I have been married 19 years, and today we live a busy life with our four kids. Similar to the struggles you’re experiencing, we’ve had to work hard to figure out how to overcome the challenges we’ve faced.

One thread that’s woven through the struggle we’ve had to navigate is being a first responder family. My husband has been a firefighter for the last 27 years. While he’s had a successful career, it’s meant that we’ve spent long hours away from each other. Much of my parenting has been solo and, we are constantly in a state of adjustment. We’ve witnessed injuries and illnesses in other firefighters, watched relationships suffer, and navigated struggles in our own marriage. 

Together, we have shared the experience of everything from infertility, learning to set difficult boundaries with extended family, coping with challenges that come with being a first responder family, and learning to re-adjust after a difficult year at home during the pandemic.

When the chaos of 2020 happened,  I realized how many people were struggling and that they were simply unable to find the care they needed. As a community member, I watched countless social issues being exacerbated, including a huge need for mental health services with first responders. I believe the pandemic highlighted what a deep need we have for empathy and compassion, but it also showed how important it is that when we lean on and trust people, they follow through on what they commit to.

The pandemic and virtual therapy has provided a unique opportunity to connect with others. In reaching out to first responders and their therapists, I discovered the need for mental health support in first responders was far greater than I had even anticipated.