Welcome to the Tweed Trends podcast. Hey, Evette, what's trending today? Hey, I'm Evette, hey girl. And you are tuned in to Tweed Trends.
It's the quickest way to find out what's trending today. Welcome back to Tweed Trends. Today is National First Responders Day. Let's get started.
A first responder is a person with specialized training who's among the first to either arrive or provide assistance at the scene of an emergency. Now, the type of emergencies range anything from accidents, national disasters, acts of terrorism, just anything where there's chaos involved, where there's people running away from it, you've got your first responders, and they're running to the scene. They're going to ground zero, basically. So when you think of a first responder, nine times out of 10, you think of the typical first responders, like law enforcement officers, paramedics, EMTs, firefighters, things like that.
But there are others that are technically considered first responders that you might not even think of. So let's expand our vision of what a first responder is and include the 911 operators. Because remember, when you are on the scene and you see something happen and you call 911, first off, the 911 operator has to calm you down, because you just can't even wrap your mind around what you just saw and you're just like, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, they're like, hey, calm down, take it easy, work with me. And we got this.
And they get the information, so now they've got someone that's coming out to your location. But until that person gets there, that 911 operator is going to walk you through the steps to care for that person. So technically, in a sense, they are a first responder because they're giving you the tools that you need to be able to handle the situation until someone can come and take the reins from you and say, OK, we got this. Now let's give them to the hospital.
Let's continue some CPR, whatever. So add an 911 operator to the list. Now we all know with COVID, doctors, nurses, anybody who works in the medical field that is assisting the chaos from the pandemic, they're also considered a first responder because technically they fit the description. They have specialized training and they are providing assistance in a case of an emergency, right?
But then what about a lifeguard? They're a first responder. They're on the beach. But when something goes down, they're the first one that runs to wherever the situation is to try to fix it and make everything better.
Now let's even take it a step further. What about where you work? Now you're like, well, I'm a school teacher. Well, guess what?
In schools, there are teachers and other staff members that have been trained to be first responders. So they may not be a typical first responder. They've basically volunteered their themselves and their services to be that person in the building. They should something pop off.
They're going to get called to the scene while you wait for the next first responder to show up from the official offices, like your paramedics, that sort of thing. So check around where you work, who knows? There may be a first responder on duty every day all day and you just never even knew it because they don't wear a special uniform or a special hat or anything. But they know that if something happens, they need to run to the scene versus away.
Being a first responder is no easy task because when you think about it, these are the people that have to react during some of the most stressful situations and times. When something has popped off, when there's a car accident or something, you have these emergency people that are coming in, they don't know what to expect. They don't know what they're dealing with until they get there in the moment on the scene and they have to jump to action. They're not like the rest of us where we can break down and cry, melt into the street and just flail about.
They can't do that because every second that's lost is a second that that person that maybe they're trying to save is losing as well. Every second counts. So to be a first responder means that you have to be tough, you have to be strong, and you have to be able to hold it together in the moment. Now, once that moment has passed, I can only imagine what that feeling of relief or might even be grief or something, say they don't save the person, then now they know that they had an opportunity and it just didn't work out.
All of that stress and strain that's put on these first responders, it affects them. There are studies out there that have said that EMS professionals, that they really don't get enough time to recover between traumatic events because it may be a hot night, it might be, I don't know, something's going on in the city, and as soon as you get finished with one, they're sending you to another and another and another. So not only do you not have time to recover mentally, but physically as well. You're not getting any sleep in between one call to the next shirt, you're not being able to decompress and get that off of you.
And so depression and stress are serious for our first responders. You gotta also think, suicide. Sometimes, you know, this person has been strong for so long and then they just can't take it anymore. Or in a situation of like firefighters, you know, they run into burning buildings to put out the fire and there have been several situations where firefighters run in the building and they don't run out.
And so now you've been there besides your fellow firefighter and now they're gone. And so that grief and that pain that you feel because now not only did this building burn down and we had trouble putting the fire out, but we've even lost some of our comrades. And that too is heavy on a first responder. So I said all of this to say this, we need to look out for these people.
Some of us, we don't even know who they are because they're volunteers. So, you know, you don't see them in that capacity as their main job. They do this outside of what they do in their nine to five, which is absolutely amazing. Let me just say that.
But you have these people that, you know, they may start having these suicidal thoughts. They may start using and abusing substances and we gotta keep an eye out for them. We need to let them know that it's okay not to be okay, but you gotta talk to somebody, you have to let somebody know, I cannot help you if I don't know that you need help. But some of these people still aren't gonna tell us.
So you gotta keep your eyes open, keep your eyes and your ears open. Look for changes, look for signs that they may have that are showing that they got a lot on their plate. And then that's when you go and you're that friend and you talk to them and you let them know that you see them and you want them to be okay. And be willing to go with them, be willing to do whatever you need to do with them so that they can get the help that they need.
Because bottom line is they're trained to do the things that the rest of us nine times out of 10 cannot do. We just can't even wrap our minds around the situation, let alone trying to think clearly enough to be able to help in a situation like that. So we need them, but also know, let them know that as bad as we need you in that position, we need you here, period. So you can step away from that for a little bit, to pull it together, to do whatever type of self-help, self-care that you need.
Because if you don't take care of yourself, there's no way that you can help the rest of us. So you know, I always like to try to highlight an organization that we can support when it comes time to actually celebrating these special days that we have on the calendar. And so for today, what I want us to do is to look into First Responders Children's Foundation. This organization supports children and families of our First Responder heroes who risk their lives every day in service to our communities.
Well, what do they do? They provide financial support to children who've lost a parent in the line of duty, as well as families who are enduring significant financial hardships due to tragic circumstances, but that's not all. They also support, promote, and facilitate educational activities and programs that have been created and operated by First Responder organizations whose purpose is to benefit children or the community at large. They also give out college scholarships.
For the past 20 years, First Responders Children's Foundation has awarded scholarships to hundreds of children of First Responders, but they also give out awards, grants, and other financial means to individuals and public safety agencies. And then in the unfortunate situation when a First Responder dies, whether it's in the line of duty, off duty, if they were retired, or even in the case when a First Responder tragically takes his or her own life, First Responder's Children's Foundation is committed to honoring our heroes and providing support. Now I know what you're asking, well, how can I help? Here's what you do.
Together with your generous support, we can all help these First Responders families by we can donate, we can create our own fundraiser, we can do some shopping on their website and proceeds from that go to the same place, or you can host a 9-11 First Responder commemorative walk. Well, how can you find them? Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Just go on Twitter to at 1STRCF.
That's at the number one, STRCF. Well, that was today's episode of Tweet Trends. Before I go, I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you, to any and all First Responders under the sound of my voice for being such an invaluable part of our community. I know that there are times that people do not treat you well, they don't talk to you the right way, just being rude or inconsiderate because they're emotional, they're in their feelings, but please know that you are appreciated, you are loved, you are respected, and once again, thank you for all that you do for us and the community.
Now, for those of you that are wanting to celebrate and find some way to show appreciation of First Responders, my recommendation again is to check out First Responders Children's Foundation, and you can find them on Twitter at the number one, STRCF. You can also find me there at HEVET, that's at HEY, EVETTE, or just look for the hashtag Tweet Trends. And until next week, I hope you have a good one, take care, and show some love to our First Responder today.