The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has left first responders strained and exhausted as they struggle to keep up service to their communities in a time of constant stress, prompting calls for urgent support and efforts to break down the stigma around mental health.
While the past 18 months have taken a heavy toll on health care workers, the trauma of working on the front lines of the pandemic also extends to police, firefighters and emergency medical service workers, who are wrestling with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction.
Amid longer hours and fears about bringing the virus home, these first responders have been in a heightened state of “hypervigilance” for 19 months and counting without an end in sight.
