BRAINTREE, Mass. — Braintree firefighter Andrew Leneweaver is one of many on the frontline and understands firsthand the toll the job can take on someone’s mental health.
Leneweaver started the Kritical Incident K9 Foundation, which is meant to help first responders deal with the stress of the job through a four-legged support partner, just like Halli!
“After a traumatic call, she’ll be there, she’ll be trained to pick up when they’re stressed, and she’ll sit on their feet, lick them, do whatever they need to do. Even if it just helps a little bit, that goes a long way, because most times firefighters don’t like to ask for help,” said Leneweaver.
All the care and training for Halli is provided through private donations from the community. The movement started with a GoFundMe.
Andrew says this conversation goes way beyond just support for area responders. “Outside the line of duty deaths, the main cause of deaths for firefighters are heart-related incidents from stress and suicide, and substance abuse,” said Leneweaver.
This push comes as Massachusetts continues to track suicides among first responders. State data shows the average rate of suicides among first responders was 1.5 times higher than the overall state suicide rate amongst people aged 18 to 64.
Dr. Blake Hilton is part of the Leader Program at McLean Hospital. It specializes in mental health and other services designed specifically for men and women in uniform.
A gentle reminder, if you’re a first responder, your mental well-being is just as important as the work you do.
“It’s incredibly important to process these things in some sort of meaningful, healthy, and adaptive way, and where it really causes trouble is when we push those things down over time and don’t talk about them and don’t express them in some way,” said Dr. Hilton.
“She’ll be available not just Braintree, she’ll be available to all first responders in the South Shore, and once we get enough money for her to secure her training, her insurance, her health, and everything else, then any leftover money I’ll approach another fire department to see if they want a dog,” said Leneweaver.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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