SAN ANTONIO – There’s been no shortage of calls to first responders this summer in San Antonio, with the deadliest house fire in more than a decade and dozens of other fires and shootings.
Richard Miller, the president of the 100 Club of San Antonio, said he’s hoping to help first responders bear the mental burden of these.
“The need for first responders has grown so much,” Miller said. “Our first responders bear the weight of what they experience each and every day, and carrying that through a career is a difficult thing.”
The 100 Club of San Antonio is a nonprofit organization working to support local first responders in the city and across Bexar County. It holds no affiliation with one agency in San An tonio. Miller said their goal is to show up for first responders and their families through direct and indirect support.
“It’s our responsibility to take care of those who serve us,” Miller said.
Miller said after a violent summer, the 100 Club is pushing the prioritization of mental health awareness among first responders, offering up training and counseling to those who need it.
Brad Phipps, a retired San Antonio Fire Department firefighter, said that list is longer than most people think.
“We see not only injuries but death,” Phipps said. “Over time, that can definitely take a toll on a person, whether it be mentally.”
Phipps and his family received help from the 100 Club of San Antonio following a fire in 2017. Phipps was one of two firefighters injured while trying to put out a fire at the Ingram Square Shopping Center. One of his other team members, Scott Deem, died following that fire.
“I consider myself lucky that I did survive,” Phipps said. “Counseling help ease the burden that we see on a daily basis.”
SAFD and SAPD have programs set up to help their staff on a daily basis and have made mental health a priority in their departments for years. Miller said this summer has been far from easy for first responders, but he’s at least hoping that talking about mental health is a little bit easier.
“There is a great deal of generational change that’s taking place,” Miller said.