Tacoma Firefighter-Paramedic Cody Shea has created a documentary that highlights the mental health challenges brought on by working in the fire service.
The Call We Carry is features interviews with 10 of Shea’s colleagues in the department, discussing the fallout that exposure to trauma can cause.
Depression, addiction, sleep disorders and suicide can all result from the exposure to trauma that firefighters face. The Tacoma Department has a Peer Support program that it created to address some of these issues, and the documentary started out as a small project to make people aware of the program.
But as Shea carried out interviews for the film, he said the opportunity to create an expanded documentary to share with the larger community. The goal? To save lives by getting first responders to recognize mental health problems and seek help.