In the summer of 2019, Jeff Reeder was discussing the site plans with the media. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Mental health

Emotional video series raises awareness for first responders retreat project

Mar 19, 2021 | 8:00 AM

While fundraising efforts continue for the River Valley Resilience Retreat, the people behind the project are hoping an emotional series of videos will help spread awareness for the cause.

Apollo Multimedia was approached by the committee to conduct six interviews and put together the final videos. Owner Lucas Chudleigh was behind the camera and explained the interviewees bravely came forward to share their own stories, related to operational stress injuries.

“We ask them to be there for us in the worst possible moments of our lives, and when those people are in their own bad spot, they have little to nowhere to turn,” he said.

Describing the emotional content of interviews, Chudleigh said not all that was said will make it onto the final cut.

“It’s shocking what these responders deal with day-to-day,” he said.

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The River Valley Resilience Retreat– proposed on land in the Rural Municipality (RM) of Duck Lake– will be a lodge for first responders to talk with their peers who are going through similar situations, receive equine therapy, and take a respite in nature. Prior to taking his own life in 2019, Chris Siddons, who struggled for years with his own operational stress injuries, initially pitched the idea for the retreat. Siddons was also a founding member of OSI-CAN.

Guy Lloyd worked at the Saskatchewan Penitentiary for 30 years, in various units, and was one of the six people interviewed for the video series. He told paNOW he found the experience of talking about his past very challenging.

“It brings back those nightmares and dreams about all those incidents,” he said.

Lloyd explained there are just no supports in place for front-line workers, explaining you can’t put a cop, paramedic, nurse, or jail guard in a psychiatric ward where the general public is. That’s the reason why Lloyd supports the idea of the proposed retreat in a secluded rural location.

“I’ve lost so many friends and co-workers,” he said. “A lot commit suicide and if they just had a safe place to go, another person to talk to, who had been through it, it might have saved a life. One life is worth everything,” he said.

As of Thursday, the project’s committee has raised just over $5,000. Michelle McKeaveney, one of the committee members, explained one of the first big builds on the property will involve a log cabin, by a local provider. It’s expected to cost upwards of $250,000.

“We definitely would like to have our cabin built within a year but we will be starting off with Army tents if we have to,” she said.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell