First responders suffering with PTSD to get help from new crisis team

First responders suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Newfoundland and Labrador will get help through a new program.

The province has committed $25,000 to form a crisis support team, which will help first responders deal with PTSD.

"It's a real thing, it happens to people that respond," said Duane Antle, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Fire Services.

"They see things that no ordinary person should have to see and they deal with things that can be very difficult. And unfortunately after seeing so much of that, it has a real impact on a person."

Antle said the association has been fighting for a provincial program for several years.

The peer-to-peer team will work out of four regions, beginning in Labrador. 

Antle said Labrador presents the most challenges for first responders because of its isolation.

"This is an all-inclusive journey. We don't want to see anybody left behind with the events that they have to deal with," said Antle, who has himself experienced the difficulty of having nobody to talk to about his experiences.

"I guess we just don't think that over time we've taken this stuff home and put it away on the shelf and eventually that shelf just gets so full."