Weekly virtual peer support groups foradult family members of public safety personnel.
Almost all departments have an EFAP so that paid-on-call firefighters and their families have free access to counselling, as well as support with diet, quitting smoking, child care, elder care, finances, employment, and legal matters. Access is private and confidential, meaning your department is not informed if you use the service. Contact information should be available on your station’s Health & Safety Board, through your department, or by contacting your municipal office.
(Developed by CIPSRT, and used in collaboration with Garnet Families.)
PSPNET offers online resources for couples and families of public safety personnel, including:
Skill-building exercises including Couple Time, Communicating With Children, and Coparenting In PSP Families
Spouse or Significant Other Wellbeing Course
Scheduled Grief & Respite Retreats in Elgin County for first responders and their family members are supported by an interdisciplinary team of clinical, wellness, and equine-assisted professionals dedicated to whole-person care. Funding may be available for eligible participants.
Online peer support group for family members of public safety personnel to share concerns, stress, and mental health challenges related to their loved one’s work.
Visit Wings of Change – Families →
This national organization offers a range of mental health programs for families of first responders and military members, at no cost to the firefighter, their family, or their department:
Spousal Resiliency Program
Warrior Kids Virtual Program and Warrior Kids Camp
Couples Overcoming PTSD Everyday (COPE)
Surviving Family Program (for those bereaved by a line-of-duty death or suicide)
In the heartbreaking event that a firefighter dies in the line of duty or by suicide, specialized financial and mental health supports are available for immediate family members.
The Government of Canada provides a maximum payment of $300 000 to the families of first responders who have lost their lives as a result of a work-related illness or injury, including suicide.
Visit Memorial Grant Program →
The Ontario Immediate Family Wellness Program provides free bereavement counselling to immediate family members of a first responder who died in the line of duty or by suicide.
Visit Ontario Immediate Family Wellness Program →
VFIS provides benefits to immediate family members of firefighters who died in the line of duty.
