Life Beyond Calls
Season 1
PEER SUPPORT DOWN UNDER
Supporting those who serve
The Early Years: Loving the Job, Losing Friends & What Needs to Change
From The Swamp To The City
Called to Serve
by Andrea
This episode takes us all the way to Australia We sat down with a fellow first responder to talk about his own experiences in the field, what led him to become involved in peer support, and how advocacy has become such an important part of his work. We talk about the signs and symptoms that can sometimes be overlooked after difficult calls and experiences, why recognizing those changes matters, and the stigma that can make asking for help feel like weakness. Because it shouldn’t. Asking for help is not a failure. It’s not weakness. And you shouldn’t have to reach a breaking point before someone realizes you need support. From Australia to the U.S., the frontline may look different — but the need for connection, understanding, and support doesn’t stop at the border.
In this episode, I sit down with an LMHC who works with first responders to talk about PTSD, recognizing the signs, and why asking for help matters. We talk about breaking the stigma around mental health, supporting the people behind the uniform, and creating space for honest conversations before someone reaches a crisis. Because taking care of your mental health is part of taking care of yourself.
The early years were filled with good friends, hard work, and a genuine love for the job. Working in a dangerous city meant being proactive, staying alert, and showing up every day ready to do the work. But there was one conversation that rarely happened: mental health. In this episode, we talk about the culture of staying quiet, the stigma around admitting you’re struggling, and the devastating loss of a friend to suicide. From an officer’s perspective, we discuss what needs to change—from having better support among colleagues and friends to agencies providing meaningful mental health care and resources. Because asking for help shouldn’t be seen as weakness, and no one should have to wait until they’re in crisis to reach for it. Sometimes the first step is simply saying, “I’m not okay.”
In this episode, we go back to the beginning. He shares what those early days on the job were like working for a small, very rural department and the mentors who made an impact long before he realized just how much he would carry with him. Those early officers taught him how to work, how to think, how to handle the unexpected, and how to learn from the people around him. They helped prepare him for the next chapter: leaving a quiet, rural department and stepping into a much larger, busier city where the calls were more frequent, the crime was different, and the pace never seemed to slow down. We talk about the transition, the culture shock, the lessons learned, and what it was like finding his place in a completely different environment.
In this episode, we go back to the academy. We hear Frank's journey from military deployment to the police academy. What that transition was like and how his military experience prepared him for a career in law enforcement. We talked about how he came into this calling of being a police officer. We also talked about what the academy and departments did and didn't prepare him for. Mental health education was minimal and the emotional toll of the job was not truly addressed sufficiently. We talk about department resources and how they often aren't utilized to their full potential. This is at the beginning of where our journey starts and changing how we help those who answer the call.
Join me as I welcome you to life beyond calls. Lets take a journey together as we discuss the topics that for years have gone ignored.