We Were All There
I remember during the pandemic when my father refused to give up his daily coffee outings. Then the coffee shops closed and that choice was gone; his world had become smaller.
We didn’t know how long the isolation would last and we were being told to brace for a “new normal”. But there is nothing normal about a world without community.
The pandemic exposed the lack of community in the world. Perhaps the greatest harm to humanity during the pandemic was not the threat of exposure to the virus but the toll it took on our ability to come together. We didn’t fully appreciate what we now know—that the camaraderie of community was more than fun; it was part of what makes us feel safe in the world. Human beings are healthier when they are in community.
Why Community Matters for Our Health
Eventually, Dad could no longer go to church, a Sunday ritual for him. People could no longer go to their gyms. On the surface, these were inconveniences, but they disrupted people’s sense of routine and belonging.
Then I learned that my uncle had died—a healthy, social man living in a seniors’ home in California, where pandemic safety measures had significantly reduced his contact with the world.
Strengthening Community in First Responder Workplaces
For the past two years, I have been meeting with Chiefs, Directors and Supervisors in fire, police and ambulance services. I have lost count of how many times one has reported incidents of suicide among their members.
There is no way to sugar-coat this work. Anything can happen on a call. First responders know this and that’s why they move into high alert when the calls come. It’s the job they have taken on.
The challenge is that the body doesn’t always recognize when the danger has passed. The nervous system doesn’t switch off immediately when first responders return to the station.
But imagine that when they do, there when first responders there to listen as they talk about what happened. That their colleagues could help them process — by listening, by presence — so their nervous system could regulate again. This is what community looks like in the first responder world.
And more than that, imagine a station where connection and camaraderie create steadiness before the day even starts.
Community Regulates the Nervous System
Regulation of the nervous system does not need to rely solely on professional supports. In a first responder community, people naturally understand and care for one another.
A community culture is the support system.
Every first responder deserves to work in a community environment.
Photo by Jacob Narkiewicz on Unsplash