Articles

Fight or Flight: Santa Rosa Nonprofit Vows to ‘Put PTSD Out of Business’ Susan Farren answers the call to build resiliency in at-risk first responders First responders are our heroes. We see them as a strong, calming presence and depend on them to help us through the worst of times. Yet we rarely give thought to how the situations they encounter might affect them. The impact, it turns out, is significant. They’re more likely to […]

This former Sonoma County paramedic saw so many first responders hurting that she decided to help A growing focus on mental and behavioral health resources for first responders has gained ground in Sonoma County and the North Bay, thanks in part to a former paramedic who saw so much suffering among her friends and colleagues that she started her own resiliency training firm. Hundreds of local police and firefighters are among the more than 6,500 […]

The Honor a Responder campaign will raise funds for the development of the premier First Responders Resiliency Center. First Responders Resiliency, Inc. (FRRI) has launched its first annual fundraising campaign titled Honor a Responder. The Honor a Responder campaign is part of a Capital Campaign to raise funds for the development of the premier First Responders Resiliency Center in Cotati, Calif. SOURCE – Read more at Northbay Biz: https://www.northbaybiz.com/2022/08/12/first-responders-resiliency-inc-launches-new-campaign/

A local nonprofit focused on increasing physical and mental wellness for emergency first responders received a $10,000 grant from the Sonoma County Vintners Foundation to support its programming. First Responder Resiliency, established by Sonoma County resident Sue Farren in 2018 to help address the unique emotional and health strains faced by public safety personnel, will use the grant money for its family services, according to a Thursday press release. These services include resiliency classes, support […]

A burly man with a mop of blonde hair and a serious expression faced two rows of off-duty firefighters, police officers, paramedics and soldiers gathered in the carriage house of a Napa County vineyard. Then he stretched his rear leg back, bent his front knee, reached both arms upward and barked, “Warrior pose!” “Warrior pose!” responded the pupils in a military cadence, as they mimicked his stance. The sight is a far cry from the […]

A live auction and dinner in Cotati on Saturday evening raised money for a new support center for area first responders. First Responders Resiliency’s fundraising goal was $2 million, according to the nonprofit organization’s Founder and Executive Director Susan Farren. “Go big or go home, girl,” she joked. Money raised will go towards a center in Cotati that will offer services including trauma therapy, family services and addiction recovery support. It will be the first center […]

First Responders Resiliency has trained more than 5,000 front-line workers since 2018 and helps them to cope with work-related stressors. HEALDSBURG, CA — Coming out of an 18-month stretch when first responders and frontline workers saw their stress levels reach new levels because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a Santa Rosa not-for-profit is helping train these vital workers in ways they may have never expected. SOURCE: https://patch.com/california/healdsburg/north-bay-non-profit-provides-holistic-help-first-responders

Susan Farren is the founder and executive director of First Responders Resiliency, Inc. (FRRI), and she wants you to know one thing, “Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) is not a disorder. Schizophrenia is a disorder. It’s a lifelong issue for which you have to take medication. PTS is a compilation of symptoms of exposure to trauma and stress, and you can recover from those symptoms,” she says emphatically. FRRI’s goal is Putting PTSD Out of BusinessTM.

She didn’t know it, but retired paramedic Susan Farren’s timing was impeccable. A bout with kidney cancer in 2016 ended her long career on ambulances. Her experience with the illness opened her eyes to research showing first responders are more susceptible to certain diseases and health problems. A common factor is stress. Once healthy, she sold her house to get the seed money to start First Responders Resiliency Inc. in early 2017. The nonprofit program […]

First responders are in the hearts of many as this COVID-19 pandemic holds the country in its grasp. Firefighters and paramedics in the North Bay got a treat earlier this month, when a private business, Park Avenue Catering, and First Responders Resiliency, Inc. (FRR), a nonprofit dedicated to eradicating PTSD through science-based strategies, joined forces.

  LODD: CAL FIRE Firefighter I Yaroslav Igorevich Katkov

CHRIS SMITH THE PRESS DEMOCRAT | August 8, 2018, 5:55PM Chances are you’ve asked a law enforcement officer, firefighter or emergency medical technician you’ve met: How do you get by and stay normal, given what you do and witness day after day at crime, fire and accident scenes? The truth, say retired paramedic Susan Farren and retired firefighter Ron Shull, is that many first responders are eaten up by what they experience on the job. […]

Dominica News Online – Tuesday, July 31st, 2018 at 10:36 AM The General Secretary of the Dominica Public Service Union Thomas Letang believes public officers are not given priority as the country recovers from Hurricane Maria. Letang told DNO that some public officers are the first responders after disasters and they should be not be treated like regular citizens following such events.