NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — An assistant fire chief is changing how first responders view the job and is putting the focus on mental health.
Newport News assistant fire chief David Lewis has struggled with anxiety, depression, PTSD and contemplated suicide. He wrote a book about his experiences and has made it his mission to end the stigma of mental health.
“When I first came in the organization, you didn’t talk about mental health,” Lewis told 10 On Your Side. “You went to the bad calls and you kept your mouth shut and went back to the station and it was business as usual.”
That built up trauma, Lewis said, can be detrimental as a first responder.
“We have a front row seat to the worst possible things that society experiences,” Lewis said. “We’re there, we’re not able to turn away and walk away.”
His goal is to normalize and prioritize mental health.
“In the Newport News Fire Department we have a peer support team,” Lewis said. “This year we are implementing about 18 hours of training. We have counselors coming in that will provide training and certifications and alcohol abuse and PTSD awareness, suicide prevention, numerous topics. We’re tired of hearing the stories of individuals going home after being away from their families for 24 hours at a time, but yet they’re not mentally home.”
Earlier this week Lewis organized a stress reduction training for first responders in Newport News and Hampton. He invited several counselors from New Vita Neurotherapy and Target 2 Zero to speak and show folks how to use a special technique when responding to a traumatic event.
“What we want to be able to do is clear out adverse events as quickly as possible for people to decrease symptoms that then can improve performance and outcomes,” said Target 2 Zero CEO Scarlet Williams. “We do three things to reconsolidate an event. We move, tap, take a deep breath while thinking about the event. In doing this our brain quickly reconsolidates that memory so the details aren’t bothering us anymore and it quickly goes to zero. That’s the reason for the name Target 2 Zero.”