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After nine months of work, the new website gives first responders access to 24/7 confidential crisis support over the phone and self-assessment tools to help first responders gauge their own mental health. It also directs people to peer support groups and provides educational material for family members on some of the symptoms they can look for in their loved ones.

Curle believes this resource, created in partnership between the Saskatchewan First Responders’ Mental Health Committee and WorkSafe Saskatchewan, is an important step toward creating more awareness of mental health and sparking change.

“Our family is hopeful that mental health initiatives such as that being implemented here can bring us one step closer to an effective and collaborative approach to mental health management for all those in the vital first responder community,” she said.

“I can look back and see a lot of mistakes we made along the way but this is one of the biggest: Not realizing this is a lifelong condition to be managed, not cured.”

Photo by TROY FLEECE / Regina Leader-Post

Kevin Mooney, interim vice-president of prevention and employer resources for the WCB, said the organization has seen a 75-per-cent increase in accepted mental health claims over the past few years. With this new resource, he hopes first responders can learn the symptoms of mental illness and reach out for help sooner, while also providing direction on how to file a claim if needed.