Dan Irvine knows firsthand the pressure faced by both military and emergency services personnel.
At 47-years-old, he has spent most of his adult life in a uniform, serving from the cold war to the streets of Calgary.
As a member of the Paramedic Honour Guard - one who bears the bodies of fallen comrades to burial - he knows all too well the effects the pressures of the job can have.
"I've buried far too many over the last year," he said.
It's with that heavy knowledge that Irvine is stepping into the ring of mental health to help provide his peers with an outlet that combines physical and mental well-being.
In partnership with Cochrane's Rival Boxing, Irvine's Sheepdog Lodge - a retreat for first responders and veterans – is providing an exclusive workout space for military and first responders of all uniforms to go for sanctuary – or intervention if needed.
"This our first attempt at it and that is to create a community for first responders and veterans and provide a safe place," said Irvine, explaining that over the years emergency personnel tend to experience a change in themselves, becoming more protectors of society than one of its members.
"Sometimes it's a struggle to get out to the gym and walk through the door and do a work out. As first responders and veterans, we do go through some psychological traumas and it can make us want to withdraw."
The exclusive nature of the workout space is essential to developing a comfort level that will bring medical personnel, police and veterans together when the program begins on Feb. 1.
"It provides an opportunity to have these people come and workout with people who speak the same language," said Irvine, adding it allows for quicker intervention.
Operating in conjunction with All-In Program – which provides two-sided coins to veterans and emergency responders and can be used to indicate either immediate distress or a need to talk – everyone involved can go knowing they are in a safe space where they will be supported by people who know what they are going through.
"We have a safe place where we can go and have a discussion," said Irvine. "We're just ordinary people who get put into extraordinary situations and it's important for us to have a place where we can go and debrief."
While it is becoming better recognized that soldiers, veterans and emergency services are at greater risk of mental health issues and suicide, supports outside the scope of the job are less common. Irvine said the aim of this program is to provide community level support. His goal is to eventually extend beyond Cochrane to Calgary and Edmonton.
"Once you go home, you're on your own. There's nothing for you. We're trying to provide that environment of wellness," said Irvine. "It's a program that's built by first responders for first responders. This allows us to put ourselves out their in a community that understands the day-to-day of our job and also our home life."
Anne Garrido, owner and coach with Rival boxing, said a program like this is long overdue and she is excited to support an initiative that will aid the people who put their lives on the line for the public every day.
The cost of the program, which has a waiting list, will be covered by Sheepdog Lodge.
To learn more about the program or Sheepdog Lodge, go to http://www.sheepdoglodge.com/
