STANFORD, Ky. (LEX 18) — First responders are dedicated to the communities they serve. But many people don't fully understand what these men and women face every day. Mend the Line is a non-profit in Lincoln County that offers first responders mental health resources to help deal with those challenges.
The organization’s president and founder, Sonya Kirkpatrick, says, "Just the compounding recurring trauma, what to do with that, how to manage that. It's something that they don't really teach when you're learning how to do those jobs."
On Wednesday, the MCA, a communications company, gave the organization an $11,000 grant toward its mission. Sonya, a therapist and former EMT, says these funds will help with services.
"Even co-pays can be expensive, things like that. So, we want to be able to help ease that burden because money should not be a barrier to asking for help,” says Sonya.
The organization was founded in 2023. Sonya says that in that time, they've held more than a dozen sessions and helped more than 300 first responders. They're looking to keep it going.
Sonya’s husband, Stanford Police Captain Ryan Kirkpatrick, says, "All the training we do, everything we do, we always tell people you know, save these tools for your toolbox. Well now we're starting to understand that we need a mental health toolbox."
In the last two decades Ryan has been an EMT, firefighter, and police officer. He says it has only been in the last few years that mental health has been a part of the discussion and says it doesn't just affect the individual.
He says, "You kinda wanted to file those things away, because obviously if you kept them at the forefront of your memory, it would drive you insane. But where I noticed it, was it started spilling out with my family."
Ryan explains that these roles take more of a toll than people might realize. He says it impacts people who've served longer more than younger generations, who are better equipped to address their feelings.
"For that, I think it takes something special like this to go, 'Listen, there's probably a problem I’ve had all the stresses and the problems that you've had, I understand you but here's what you can do to fix it,'" says Ryan.
Sonya explains, "It's not always comfortable to be vulnerable, but vulnerability like I said doesn't have to be a weakness it can be a strength to notice that something is going on, that you're struggling with something and be able to ask for help."
