My name is Debb Pitel, wife of 31 years to Kevin and mother to four sons. My journey or life experience hasn’t always had a name. There was feeling overwhelmed, being emotional, there were struggles and at times, it all seemed too much to handle. Not all life lessons are taught; in my case, they were learned through experiences.  Countless times, I just needed to talk to someone whom I thought wouldn’t judge me, but instead, I remained silent. When my son Tyler began to struggle, we knew very quickly we needed help. Back 20 years ago, resources were called...Read More

Written by Dawn Stilwell G. Connors spent his entire career in Emergency Medical Services, working as a paramedic. As you can imagine, this kind of work has its share of traumatic experiences for the first responders who attend suicides, horrific accidents and more. Over time, G’s mental health began to suffer and he was eventually diagnosed with PTSD, which was attributable to his experiences on the job. During his tenure in EMS, G and others would ask for debriefings where first responders could open up and share about what they experienced during traumatic calls they attended. Various agencies and services...Read More