Brazos Matters: How TEEX’s Public Safety Wellness Program is addressing PTSD in first responders

An estimated 400,000 first responders across America are living with symptoms of PTSD — yet stigma, cost, and scheduling keep many from ever asking for help. In this episode of "Brazos Matters," host Jay Socol and student contributor Kaleigh Mazy sit down with Alisa McDonald, program director of the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service's (TEEX) Public Safety Wellness Program, to discuss how first responders process trauma — and what's being done to support them. Alisa, a licensed professional counselor who came to TEEX from the Texas Department of Public Safety, was tasked from day one with a daunting mission: help end first responder suicide. She walks through how the program built its "Support That Saves" peer support training, why mixing firefighters, police officers, EMTs, and dispatchers in the same class turned out to be the key to breaking down silos between disciplines, and what her team encountered when they deployed to support responders during the devastating Kerrville floods in 2025. The conversation covers the real barriers responders face in getting mental health care, the warning signs loved ones should watch for, and the difference between "commiseration" and genuine peer support. Alisa also shares her vision for expanding the program to reach first responders' families and retirees, and offers guidance for local officials considering wellness programs of their own. A candid, informative conversation about the hidden toll of first responder work — and the growing effort to make sure no one has to carry it alone. TEEX Public Safety Wellness Program: https://teex.org/public-safety-wellness/ "Brazos Matters" is a production of Aggieland's Public Radio 90.9 KAMU-FM, a member of Texas A&M University's Division of Community Engagement.