We Still Show Up
Written by Tracy Severson, published October 18, 2021
I’m tired. Are you tired? For those raising their hands, I see you. For those afraid to admit it for fear it shows weakness, I see you too. We all have different reasons for being tired and when I say that it can mean physically or emotionally. I know for myself it can be both some days.
For almost the past two years we were dealt a hand that no dispatcher, new or seasoned, has ever seen. We handled a world pandemic which changed how we interacted with callers, our responders, and even with each other. Some dispatch centers were severely affected by the virus within their own staff. We even lost some of our Gold Line family to the virus. The stay at home orders as a result of the pandemic brought on more calls of domestics, drug use and those in a mental health crisis. Some of these incidents turned violent and did not end in a positive way. We left most days tired, but we still returned for the next shift.
We dealt with civil unrest in the form of riots, shootings and in more tragic instances loss of officer lives. During the height of this time dispatchers took more verbal abuse than ever before. Even being on high alert in their own centers. We were tired of the verbal beatings, but we still came back the next shift.
We have a job where we answer a call and have absolutely no idea what is going to come our way. It could be the screaming mom whose baby isn’t breathing, the citizen who is upset that someone is parked in a particular spot or the suicidal caller who may have a gun to their head. Those callers will probably never know our name, but they will always remember our voice and we will remember theirs. Those voices will haunt us, but we still come back for the next shift.
We are the voice to our responders on the other end of the radio and our job is to keep them safe to send them home to their families. There is always a love/hate relationship between dispatch and our officers, but anyone will tell you that we know the second something is wrong with the tone of their voice. The adrenaline immediately starts running and we will not take a deep breath until we know they are safe. With the social climate the way it has been we feel this more and more, but we continue to show up and protect them shift after shift.
We are known as the voice in the darkness; rarely seen but always heard. Keeping it together is in our blood. I don’t care who tells you otherwise this is not a job that everybody can do. We are not secretaries; we are the voice for our callers and our responders. Now more than ever though those voices are sounding weary. As the dust begins to settle from the last two years, we are seeing an increase in PTSD cases and mental health issues within our profession. The stress and trauma from the calls and more violent incidents are taking their toll.
A year ago, I wrote a letter to new dispatchers and if I could go back and add to that I would encourage taking care of your emotional health. Don’t be the one who says, “I can handle it” and stuff it down. Learn early on what helps you best to release the stress, talk with your partners, and set good boundaries when you need to. I have seen firsthand with seasoned dispatchers the toll that PTSD has taken on them. When it is our job to keep it together it makes it hard to admit that you need help, but we need to recognize that asking for help shows strength. Remember that even though we are the voice to others in this profession that we also need to be our own voice.
Stay Strong Gold Line!
Thank you, Tracy for sharing your talents with us. If you are interested in writing a blog, please email 911derWomen@gmail.com. Sign up for our newsletter on our homepage to stay up to date with 911der Women programming, exclusive content and blog updates. Click here and scroll to the bottom.