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Introducing the newest member of the Hancock Co ESDA Team: Daisy
If you have not met Daisy yet, here she is! She is a 2 year old great pyrenees/huskey. We got her from the wonderful crew at WIAR Rescue in Monmouth. They were so helpful in helping us pick out the perfect partner for our mission/ plan. What is our plan for Daisy? Our plan is to have her be a therapy dog to bring to critical incident stress debriefings. CISDs are debriefings that first responders go to after experiencing/being on a traumatic call. Most first responders do not like to open up during these debriefings, but studies show that having an animal present during these help first responders feel more comfortable, then, in turn help them open up more. We have had Daisy for a little over two weeks now and she is doing great with training. She still has a ways-to-go, but is definitely making progress. In the coming weeks and months, we will slowly start taking her around here and there. She would love for you to come up and pet her, but please be mindful she is still training.
Introducing Evan: My name is Evan Davidson and I am the Hancock County IL ESDA Chaplain. I live on a small farm just outside of Carthage with my family, and enjoy anything outdoors. I also really enjoy anything incident command, haz mat, or disaster related. I have been a firefighter for over 14 years. Nine years with Payson Fallcreek FD, and over five years with Carthage Fire. I am also a lieutenant, and chaplain for Carthage Fire, chaplain for HCEMS, and support for law enforcement entities in the county. Mental health is a big thing for me, this is why I enjoy chaplain work. I am CISM certified, CISM stands for Critical Incident Stress Management, a system of programs and interventions/ debriefings that help people manage and recover from significant stress. CISM is used to prevent stress in emergency responders and to help them deal with it if they experience it in their work.
CISM aims to: Provide social support Help people cope with and manage themselves Help people return to normal working Identify if people need to be referred to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)
CISM involves selecting and implementing the most appropriate crisis intervention tactics for a given situation. My partner Daisy who is my therapy dog in training, helps me to help other first responders in times of need after a tramatic event. Studies show that when animals are present during a CISM debriefing, people open up more. Please reach out to me if you need anything. I would be happy to help, or at least get you the right resources
