Standing By If You Need Help Now

Standing
By

First Responder Network

Standing By: First Responder Network connects active and retired police, fire, EMS, and 911 dispatch personnel across Broome County and the surrounding Southern Tier for regular meetups built around one simple idea: this job creates a bond and a burden that only another first responder truly understands. We gather to eat, talk, laugh, and vent — no rank, no department lines, just people who've stood on the same radio channel or the same scene. Standing By is peer connection, not clinical care. We're here to make sure nobody in this community has to process what they've seen alone, and to point each other toward real support when it's needed.

If You Need Help Now

Status: On Standby

Law EnforcementFireEMS911 DispatchActiveRetiredCareerVolunteerNo Rank, No Lines, Just Us Law EnforcementFireEMS911 DispatchActiveRetiredCareerVolunteerNo Rank, No Lines, Just Us

Who this is for

If you wear the badge,
carry the radio,
or answer the call.

You shouldn't have to explain yourself, or filter what you say because someone wouldn't get it. Everyone here has been on the same channel or the same scene. Active or retired, career or volunteer, any agency in the region.

Law Enforcement

Police

Municipal, sheriff, state, university and transit, corrections.

Fire Service

Fire

Career and volunteer, including fire police and support crews.

Emergency Medical

EMS

EMTs, paramedics, and the ambulance crews who ride with them.

Communications

Dispatch

911 telecommunicators and agency dispatchers — first of the first responders.

What we actually do

Get people in the same room.

No lecture halls, no sign-in sheets, no chain of command. Just time with people who've stood where you've stood.

Get-togethers

Dinners, bonfires, kayaking, and open meetups across Broome and the surrounding counties. Come as you are, leave when you want.

Retreats

Longer time away from the radio and the pager, built around decompression and connection rather than curriculum.

Peer support seminars

Speakers and training from people who've done the job — stress, sleep, family strain, and what happens after the worst calls.

Straight answers

What this is — and what it isn't.

Being clear about this up front is what makes people comfortable enough to show up.

What Standing By is

  • Peer connection between people who've done the job
  • A place to eat, talk, laugh, and vent without translating
  • Confidential — what's said here stays here
  • Open regardless of rank, agency, or how long you've been out
  • A bridge to real support when someone needs more than a bonfire

What it isn't

  • Clinical care, therapy, or a substitute for treatment
  • A crisis line or emergency response service
  • A department program, union, or reporting channel
  • A place for politics, department drama, or recruiting
  • Anything that goes back to your chief, your PD, or your file

You don't have to wait
for the next meetup.

Nationwide, New York, Pennsylvania, and county-by-county resources, including lines answered by people who've worn the uniform. If you're in immediate danger, call 911. If you're in crisis, call or text 988 — free, confidential, 24/7.

See All Resources

Stand with us

Come stand by with us.

The group is screened before anyone joins — expect a couple of questions about your agency, role, and whether you're active or retired. That's what keeps it worth showing up to. Immediate family and spouses are considered case by case.

Request to Join Email Us

Support the work

Standing By runs on volunteer time and small gifts. Contributions go toward gatherings, retreats, speakers, and printed crisis resource cards for area departments. No one draws a salary.

Talk to Us About Giving

501(c)(3) status pending. Standing By: First Responder Network, Inc. has applied for federal tax-exempt recognition. If approved, exemption is generally retroactive to the date of formation. Nothing here is tax advice.

If you need help now

Mental Health &
Crisis Resources

Nationwide, New York, Pennsylvania, and county-level resources for first responders and their families across the Southern Tier and the Northern Tier, plus national lines answered by people who have worked the job. Save the ones that fit you in your phone now, before you need them.

Jump to: Responder lines · Nationwide · New York State · Pennsylvania · Your county

If you or someone else is in immediate dangerCall 911Tap to dial. If you're in crisis or just need to talk988Call or text. Free, confidential, 24/7. Press 1 for the Veterans Crisis Line.

Answered by people who've done the job

Peer-staffed

Peer-staffed lines built for first responders, run by national nonprofits and member organizations. You won't have to explain the culture, the shift work, or why you can't just take a week off.

Nationwide resources

Nationwide

Nationwide services run or funded by the federal government. Open to everyone, including responders and their families.

New York State resources

State

State-run programs and hotlines. CARES UP and the DHSES wellness program are built specifically for uniformed personnel.

Pennsylvania resources

State

Statewide lines for the Pennsylvania side of the line. County crisis numbers are in the section below.

PA Support & Referral Helpline1-855-284-2494Statewide listening and referral service run through the PA Department of Human Services. TTY 724-631-5600.24/7 Crisis Text Line — PennsylvaniaText PA to 741741Text-based crisis support with the Pennsylvania keyword.24/7 PA Dept. of Human Servicespa.gov mental healthCounty-by-county crisis numbers, treatment locator, and program information for all 67 counties.

Your county

Local

Local crisis lines change by county, and several of these can send someone to you in person. Pick where you are.

Broome County, NY

Your own department

Agency

Most agencies have something, even if nobody talks about it. Worth finding the number before you need it.

  • Employee Assistance Program (EAP) — usually a set number of free, confidential counseling sessions, often extended to household members.
  • Peer support team — trained members of your own or a neighboring agency.
  • CISM team — critical incident stress management, for debriefs after bad calls.
  • Union or benevolent association — many run their own confidential assistance programs.
  • Chaplain — available in many departments regardless of whether you're religious.

If you don't know what your agency offers, ask us in the group. Someone there has probably already found out.

Worried about someone on your crew?

You don't need the right words, and you don't need to be a counselor. Most of the time, being the person who noticed is the whole job.

  • Ask directly and plainly. Say what you noticed rather than what you suspect — "you've been off since that call" lands better than a diagnosis.
  • Pick a time and place where they aren't performing for anyone. A truck, a driveway, a walk.
  • Listen longer than feels comfortable. Don't rush to fix it or trade war stories.
  • Offer to make the call with them, or sit there while they make it. Handing someone a number is not the same as helping them use it.
  • Follow up a few days later. One conversation is a check-in; two is a relationship.
  • If you believe someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or stay with them and call 988 together.

What Standing By is, and isn't

Standing By is peer connection — people who've done the job, getting together in person. We are not a crisis line, not clinical care, and not a substitute for treatment.

What we can do is sit with you, point you toward the right resource, and help you make the call. Reach out to an admin in the group any time. No judgment, no waiting, no rank.

Reach Out to Us Back to Home
Get-togethers

Events
Calendar

Dinners, bonfires, kayaking, and peer support sessions across Broome County and the surrounding Southern Tier. Everyone is welcome — active, retired, career, volunteer, any agency. Click an event for details and to let the host know you're coming.

—

Upcoming

All agencies welcome

Attendees cover their own costs. If money is the reason you'd skip it, tell the host — we'll quietly take care of it.

Find your people

Interest
Groups

Not everybody wants the same night out. Pick the groups that fit and we'll only bother you about those. You can join as many as you want, and leave any of them by replying to a message.

Resources

Tools

Print it, fill it out by hand or on screen, keep it in your rig, your locker, or on the fridge. Nothing on this page gets saved, submitted, or sent anywhere — it lives in your browser until you close the tab.

Fillable & Printable

Safety Plan

A working document to fill out with someone — a peer supporter, a friend, a family member. Talk through it together, then keep it somewhere you'll actually see it again.

How to print or save this as a PDF

  1. Fill in the sections below, right in your browser.
  2. Press Ctrl+P (Windows) or Cmd+P (Mac) — or use the "Print This Sheet" button above.
  3. In the print window, check the destination/printer dropdown. To get a PDF instead of paper, choose "Save as PDF" (sometimes listed as "Microsoft Print to PDF").
  4. On a phone: use your browser's Share or menu button, tap Print, then pinch/tap the preview and choose Save to Files or Save as PDF.
  5. Save it somewhere you'll find it again, or print a paper copy and hand it over.

1. Warning Signs

What does it look like right before things start getting heavy for you? Thoughts, feelings, things you do, things people around you notice.

2. Things That Help — On Your Own

What's pulled you back before, even a little? Doesn't have to be big — a drive, a workout, your dog, loud music.

3. People & Places That Get Your Mind Off It

Who or where helps you think about something else for a while — a friend, family, the gym, the garage, a trail.

4. People You'll Actually Call

Names and numbers of people you'll reach out to and tell what's really going on — not just people you'd talk to about the weather.

5. Professional & Crisis Support

Department peer support, EAP, your doctor, 988 (call or text). Write the numbers down here so you're not searching for them at 2 a.m.

6. Making Things Safer

What needs to be put away or handed to someone else for now — firearms, medications, anything that turns a bad moment into something you can't take back.

Quick Reference

Back in Service
5 Tools to Reset Between Calls

You can't leave the job at the station. This walks through a shift start to finish — before you clock in, the lulls, the hard calls, your crew, and walking back through your own door — with something to do at each stop.

How to print or save this as a PDF

  1. Press Ctrl+P / Cmd+P, or use the "Print This Sheet" button above.
  2. Choose "Save as PDF" as the destination to get a file instead of paper.
Before You
Clock In

Start the Shift Already Steady

  • Walk in knowing today's not promised to go smooth — that's not pessimism, that's readiness.
  • Eat something real before the shift starts. Don't count on catching a meal later.
  • Say bye to your people like you mean it. It matters more than you'd think.
The Lulls
Between Calls

Use the Quiet When You Get It

  • Box breathing when things go quiet: in 4, hold 4, out 4, hold 4. A minute of it resets more than you'd think.
  • Keep food and water on you that isn't from a vending machine — pack it the night before.
  • Roll your shoulders, step outside, notice something that isn't a screen or a radio.
Coming Down
Off a Hard One

Get Back to Baseline

  • 5-4-3-2-1: five things you see, four you touch, three you hear, two you smell, one you taste.
  • Move — ten pushups, a fast lap around the lot, anything that burns off the adrenaline.
  • Tell yourself out loud it's over: "That call's done. I'm still here."
Lean on
Your Crew

Don't Sit With It Alone

  • Ask "you good?" — and actually stick around for the answer.
  • Five minutes after a rough one: what went right, what's still sitting wrong.
  • Let the dark humor happen. It's not disrespect, it's how this job survives itself.
Walking Back
Through Your Door

Close the Shift Out on Purpose

  • Change out of uniform the second you're home — tell your brain the shift's over.
  • Shower, walk, music — whatever resets you, do it before you walk in.
  • Write down two or three things from the shift so they're not still running laps in your head at 2 a.m.

Some nights, none of this is enough — and that's not a personal failing. If a call's still sitting on you days later, that's what the rest of Standing By is for. Reach out in the group, lean on your department's peer support, or call/text 988. No rank, no lines, just us.