Despite greater public awareness, there is still a stigma surrounding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is why a former EMS worker has organized a cross-country awareness tour.
Vince Savoia’s career was cut short after attending a traumatizing homicide call, but he says it was years before his PTSD was properly diagnosed.
He hopes to get frontline workers together to learn more about psycological stressors and how to recognize symptoms.
“It’s an opportunity to basically bring this taboo subject into the open and get more people talking about it, and we want to reduce the stigma so that it’s okay for those people who are affected to step forward and seek the help that they should be receiving.”
The 2014 Heroes are Human tour is being put on by the Tema Conter Memorial Trust and will touch down in Grande Prairie on June 13th at the QEII.
The event is free and open to the public.