Badge Of Life Canada

On Saturday August 18, 2018, Kevin Guest, a retired member of the Toronto Police Service, sponsored and fundraised for our charitable organization, Badge of Life Canada / Insigne de vie Canada by hosting his own 8-hour walk, “Shift the Stigma”. Kevin walked for 8-hrs with support from his family and friends in support of his own mental…

One of our directors at Badge of Life Canada / Insigne de vie Canada, Dr. Katy Kamkar, recently talked about the affect Operational Stress Injuries (OSI) have on our cops. She pointed out that it is especially true when a colleague is killed in the line of duty as what happened in Fredericton last week.…

Ride-along: The most vital part of a police chaplain’s ministry offering a window into the nature of police work. A law enforcement chaplain is a member of the clergy with a passionate interest for pastoral care in the challenging world of law enforcement. Such care is openly offered to all members of the service regardless…

“I’m givin’ her everything she’s got, Captain!” (Star Trek, 2009, Montgomery Scott) Or are we? Somewhere in Canada, first responders respond to a scene finding a colleague who has died from suicide. Somewhere right now a police officer, 911 communicator, corrections officer, firefighter, paramedic, nurse, doctor, and other first responders will be dealing with their…

The last 10 months have been quite exciting for all involved with Badge of Life Canada / Insigne de vie Canada.  With the assistance of licensed therapists, Chaplains and positive lived experience peers we have delivered more than 300 hours of life changing self-care, resiliency building and suicide prevention information to 100 first responders for free to…

Find Your Tribe Badge of Life Canada / Insigne de vie Canada often talks about the term #FindYourTribe. Who’s in your Tribe? What does the term actually mean? Your Tribe can be anyone you are truly connected with, like your family, such as parents, siblings, your own children, spouse, partner, loved ones.   Your Tribe…

Perceptions: Perceptions can often become our reality. First Responders. Love them. Hate them. Totally indifferent about them. Overpaid taxpayer burden. Underpaid and overworked. Lazy. Donut eaters. Protectors. Hulking specimens. Over zealous tax collectors writing speeding tickets on our highways. “I wouldn’t do that job for a million dollars.” A Hero who just saved a family and…

First responders that die by suicide are generally high performing members of their organization. They are often prime examples of what the employer expects on a daily basis. They care extremely about their career and often put their life on hold to finish the job. Sometimes too much. But what about suicide ideation? Surely only…

It’s so important in the face of these tragedies that we remember: The tragedy of the suicides hits us in the gut, leading to headlines and shock. And they get communicated, quickly and powerfully. This is good, because without the talk of suicide, it’s likely that PTSD wouldn’t be recognized for the serious injury that…

“Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging. It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.”* (*Joseph Campbell) First Responder Suicide: Our social media contacts have been reaching out lately due to concerns regarding PTSD, depression…