Jason Patton is a 15 year Firefighter/Paramedic and Driver Engineer. Jason is also the creator of Fire Department Chronicles, a popular social media channel which has amassed over 3.8 million followers.  Jason is a strong supporter Mental Health in the First Responders.   https://www.facebook.com/firedepartmentchronicles  

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John Young has been in the fire service for 21 years. Specialty training 12 years in our rescue division. Been a driver for 8 years. There is still a huge stigma about mental health in the fire service. More people need to step up and be more vocal about it. We are failing each other by not talking about it.  

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Dr. Vawter is the owner and operator of Industrial Athletics, a fitness testing, movement screening and psychological testing company that targets public safety professionals and healthcare workers. After being a paramedic for 5 years and struggling with injuries and mental health the parallels between sports performance and public safety are were undeniable. In 2016 he quit his full time paramedic position to pursue this concept. Fast forward 7 years, and lots of school he is in the first few years of this concept coming to life.  

Industrialathleticskc.com  

@industrialathleticskc Instagram  

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@thewashdownpodcast Instagram 

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Patrick Bainbridge Employed with the Kansas City VA for over 6 years with the last 3 ½ years working as a Suicide Prevention Coordinator. Prior to coming to the VA, had worked 9 years in Corrections as a Mental Health Professional. Graduated from University of Kansas with an MSW in 2007.

Cara Hall Current position at the KCVA: Suicide Prevention Coordinator, worked 12+ years with Homeless Veterans prior to that.  Graduated from the University of Georgia with an MSW in 2004. 

Veteran’s Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255  

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@thewashdownpodcast on instagram 

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Matt returns to the podcast to talk about events after his last guest spot and how he ended up in out patient treatment and the positive impact it has had on his life. 

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Today's guests are Billy Clark and Craig Cumpton. Both served in the Air Force before coming in to the fire service and both of have gone through The Battle Within. They share their stories and how going through that program helped them and how important it is for first responders to take care of their mental health.  

https://www.thebattlewithin.org/  

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Steve Pope

Captain (11 years) Kansas City, Kansas Fire Department (total time 26 years) High School Golf Coach for Piper High School Boys and Girls teams Founder of the Firefighter Golf YouTube channel, instagram, Twitter.  This is the brand that started the PTSD Awareness mission using the game of golf. Led to the founding of the First Responder Golf Foundation to help raise money to get first responders out on the golf course to decompress and reinvigorate back into life.

 Links: Firefighter Golf

https://www.instagram.com/firefighter_golf

https://youtu.be/xI0KBflCMJk

Foundation links: https://www.firstrespondergolf.org/

https://www.instagram.com/firstrespondergolffoundation/ 

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James, Chris and Jeremy talk about the rising cost of gas and inflation and the possible impacts on first responders and their mental health.

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Bear enlisted in the Army  infantry in 2005 attended infantry school at foxtrot 1/50 in FT Benning GA. After graduation he was assigned to the second battalion 6th infantry regiment and immediately deployed to Baghdad. After the deployment returned to Germany for a year then deployed to Salmon Pak Iraq. left the army after this deployment and joined the police force. He spent 4years in Harrisonville Mo where he worked the road and narcotics. In 2015 he came to Clay County worked road patrol, courts and is currently a corporal assigned to School resource unit.  

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Military Matters is a program that fills the gap in legal services available to service members and  veterans living in the greater Kansas City Metropolitan area. Military Matters collaborates with support  agencies serving the service members and veterans in the area to identify the most needed legal  services and provide assistance to those who do not qualify for aid from other agencies.  We would encourage any veterans or service members to learn more about Military Matters at our  website, https://militarymatterskc.org/. 

Our website also includes how an individual can determine if  they qualify for the program and who to contact with any questions.   

Launch of Military Matters: Money Matters!  We have created the Military Matters KC YouTube Channel where we provide videos made by local  Kansas City attorneys meant to educate our local veterans and service members on various topics.  Just launched – the Military Matters: Money Matters video series includes topics such as Identity Theft  Prevention, and How to Create a Budget.   To find these videos, visit our Military Matters KC YouTube Channel:   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8BtqjXxFWPGu7tOlCwl63w  Military Matters: Money Matters Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi7F8MSkmYm 5CxeEiDlPCoDUk_gV-1X6  

Join us at our upcoming Military Matters VeteRUN 5k!  We will be hosting the 3rd Annual VeteRUN 5k run/walk at the National WWI Museum & Memorial on  June 25. We will be bringing back the Kids Fun Run this year and would love to have everyone join us.   All proceeds from the 5k will go towards supporting the ongoing operations of Military Matters. To sign  up, head to https://militarymatterskc.org/!  We also have options for local businesses to sponsor the race or to table at the race! 

Thank you to our  current sponsors, Media Sponsor Country 94.1 KFKF, Presenting Sponsors AARP Kansas City and  Centonzio Law, PLLC, Gold Sponsor Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP, and Silver Sponsors Gary Crossley Ford,  Polsinelli PC, and Stout Law, LLC. 

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