Welcome back to another episode of Within the Trenches, a podcast based on the experience of being a 9-1-1 dispatcher. A lot has happened in the past week. On August 24th 2016 I started the #IAM911 movement, which is an effort to assist in the reclassification of Public Safety Telecommunicators (PSTs) from "clerical" to "protective." Both APCO International and NENA are pushing to get this passed. Public comments are open until September 20th 2016 (In the episode I mention the 16th and at the end the 20th. The 20th is the right day.)

The part of the public comments that interested me was the request for stories to show how we differ from commercial dispatchers and clerical workers. I felt that it was necessary to share stories as proof that PSTs are completely different. I shared a few stories and asked for others to share and the movement exploded. It has gone global and dispatchers everywhere are joining the movement to assist the reclassification push as well as bring to light what PSTs go through on a daily basis.

This episode has much more so please check it out and share! As always if you have any questions or you would like to be a guest on the show, send an email to [email protected]. Also remember to check out APCO International and NENA below to see where you can submit your public comments. If you want to join the #IAM911 movement you may do so by sharing a story by meme, text or video, remember to use #IAM911 at the end and submit it to Within the Trenches on Facebook or Twitter.

APCO International - Web

NENA - Web

Within the Trenches - Facebook | Twitter

Episode topics -

• Episode 12 tooth story
• Recent tooth story
• A moment of clarity - I love you bro...
• The #IAM911 Movement