Longtime medic and firefighter, Chris Chyka has spent the past year trying to move the needle on mental health advocacy and support within Cochrane Fire Services.

Working diligently behind the scenes, Chyka has been slowly chipping away at changing the culture, mindset, and stigma when it comes to hard to talk about topics such as PTSD and suicide. Seeing the grassroots initiative like 'Project All In' launch, he believes positive changes are on the horizon. "For a couple of guys to be floating down the river to come up with this...it's sometimes the blatantly obvious that escapes us...it's revolutionary but that's how these things happen."

Cochrane Fire Services is one of 35 agencies that is getting behind the movement which makes Chyka pretty proud. "We've ordered 150 coins here and I am very excited."

The All In coin is spreading rapidly and is a tool that will hopefully start a new dialogue. (Photo Courtesy: Chad Guenter)

While change has certainly not been fast or without challenges, he does feel his advocacy is making a difference as he gets more and more buy-in from peers and support from the top down. "When I have an idea, I want to implement it tomorrow and that is typically not how it works. When I present an idea and it's not happening tomorrow it can be frustrating but I am actually getting good support here. We are making progress it's just a super long journey."

With recent statistics stating 45-65% of firefighters are struggling with occupational stress the conversation needs to change, says Chyka, but so does the culture. " It's bravado...you don't come in this place and talk about those things, you rip on each other about other things. With firefighters, the biggest drawback is we just don't talk about it because it's still perceived as weak."

Working the front lines since the mid-nineties, Chyka understands the compounding ill effects stress can have on an individual and the dark places it can lead when feelings are not talked about, stuffed down, or just blatantly ignored, which is why Project All In has his utmost support. "The icebreaking is the hard part and that is where this (the All In coin) comes in. The beauty in the program is its simplicity; typically people that work in these professions are proud of what they do so carrying a coin around is easy. You lay it on the table...and there you go."

Another positive Chyka is starting to see, is more open dialogue happening amongst team members overall.

Being a trusted confidant and known for his level-headed demeanour, Chyka was one of four firefighters recently nominated as a Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Peer Support team member, which enables him to debrief his peers after any stressful or tragic incident. He is hopeful his new role will help team members get talking before the stressors become too much. "The value of peer support is that it's someone who you perceives understands you because they do your job. We're not mental health experts and we're not meant to fix anything but if I come in as Chris the firefighter there may be a little more buy-in."

It's not about an unwillingness to fix mental health problems, it really comes down to the 'how'?! And that is what drives Chyka to stay on his path of advocacy. "There are no metrics to measure the success of mental health programs because typically the confidentiality aspect is the most important part, so you may never know."

While his short-term goal is to continue to find ways to make things accessible so members don't have to go looking for it; in the long-term, Chyka still wants to see a couple things implemented. "For me, it would be expanding the CISM Peer Support team and having Standard Operating Guidelines or policies in place as to how the team gets deployed, and part two would be us getting a mental health check-up along with our wellness checks. We go for physical check-ups every second year but a big portion of that would be the mental health aspect. I think, together, those would be the two big things that would help us be successful around here."

Giving kudos to Project All In for starting a conversation that may very well become a national movement, Chyka says all the initiatives together is exactly what is needed to combat the stigma. "All we can do is keep chipping away, finding ways to help, and try. Will we be successful? I think so... because we are all getting behind it."

READ MORE:

'Project All In' Spreads Like Wildfire as Agencies Stand Together

Shedding Light on PTSD Through the Eyes of First Responders