Giving Back
Not OK Project T
he Not OK Project has a message for first responders who experience trauma in the line of duty: It’s OK to not be OK. These heroic men and women, who may be injured physically or psychologically as they aid disaster victims, are often timid when reaching out for help due to the stigma surrounding it and the fear of appearing weak, says the project’s founder and president, Eric Meier. Their bravado is a mask, Meier says, and the fallout could be tragic. First responders—police, firefighters, correctional officers, 9-1-1 dispatchers, EMTs, anyone dealing with suffering—commit suicide at higher rates than the general population; the data is likely under-reported, but one survey estimates as much as 10 times higher. That shouldn’t be the case, Meier says. First responders face repeated danger and witness trauma over the course of long careers. “The effect is cumulative,” Meier says. “The stress keeps piling on and may not be realized for a few years. There has to be a release somewhere.” And that release sometimes leads to suicide. The Not OK Project strives to prevent these suicides by “bringing first responders out of the dark” through shared activities like fishing, camping, music, sports, even yoga—done outdoors whenever possible. According to studies, Meier says, outdoor and, even better,
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stylemg.com
| APRIL 2020 |
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Helping Our Heroes
by LINDA HOLDERNESS // photos by DANTE FONTANA
