Badge Of Life Canada

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…

By Chris D. Lewis I spent 36 years of my life as a police officer, at all ranks and in many different areas of the organization. I served in uniform, investigations, intelligence, tactical, command and more. I certainly do not profess to know it all – much to the contrary, but I did learn some…

People have anniversary dates that celebrate many important events in their life. Birthdays, weddings, employment history, graduations, championship teams, individual awards, moving for a better life, business opportunities, retirement, and the list goes on. For first responders, who are involved in serious traumatic events, anniversary dates can be a trigger. Many individuals can spiral back…

Life is not always easy. As a former pastor and now as a chaplain, I have often been with individuals and families during their darkest hours. It is part of our job description and most of us do it by, “paying it forward”. Pay it forward is an expression for describing the beneficiary of a…

On April 17, 2018, Badge of Life Canada, in partnership with the Portico Community Church, the Mississauga/Halton LHIN, and the Punjabi Community Health Services we were able to deliver an extremely successful and educational conference, entitled, “Community Healing & Rebuilding”. The event brought together first responder organizations, mental health professionals, Chaplains and faith leaders, along…