About us
The Peer Support Team (PST) is a partnership between the Carmel Fire Department, Carmel Professional Firefighters Union and the Hamilton County Professional Firefighters Unions. The Peer Support Team is a firefighter "peer" driven team led by a licensed mental health provider. CFD Chaplain Doug Kier along with the current 10 team members, volunteer to assist other firefighters in need. In 2016, the peer support team added a civilian retired nurse who assists with navigating through the healthcare system as needed. Carmel Peer Support members have been through training, met and become acquainted with Employees Assistance Program (EP) professionals and other providers, their purpose is not to solve specific problems, rather to help firefighters identify the resources to work towards solving problems. Firefighters are exposed to situations that the normal public never sees, which once seen are often hard to forget. The brain attempts to process and make sense out of things that are difficult to comprehend and process. Over time, this residual effect can have a detrimental impact on our employees and their families. This is where we, as peer support team members become, our brothers' and sisters' keepers. The peer support team, along with other firefighters and firefighters' families can help gauge the needs of our members physically, mentally, emotionally, financially and spiritually.
At some point in life, we all need someone to help when life becomes difficult and we are unsure where to turn. These are the times when PST members can be most helpful. This program is another opportunity for us to care for our own and to help our members live a happy, healthy and productive life while serving others in our community. We are available to listen to members discuss that "difficult run" that might make it hard to sleep. Often times, the persona of just "sucking it up" is not the correct path for a firefighters' mental health. Life can be difficult and the life of a firefighter adds additional stressors.
The dedicated men and women of CFD are our biggest asset and we want to provide them and our organization with the tools, resources and support to bring all of the firefighters home safe and sound every day. This program is about a long-term plan to ensure we have the best firefighters who are physically and mentally healthy and are able to focus on responding to emergencies in our community. CFD peer support members offer support and back up to other peer teams around the State of Indiana as needed.
