For immediate and anonymous or emergency situations please call:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Available 24 hours 800-273-8255 or text 988

Illinois Fire Fighter Peer Support available 24/7 at (855)90-SUPPORT(78776)

Special thanks to Bill Coons and the Creative Dynamics Studio, Inc. Team along with the Illinois Fire Fighter Peer Support (ILFFPS) for making this video possible.

What is RE;ACT

RE;ACT is the Lt. Ryan Elwood; Awareness, Counseling and

Training Fund for First Responders in need of mental

health and emotional assistance. Lt. Ryan Elwood became

an EMT in 2006 then in 2009 became a Firefighter for two

firehouses, Hometown and North Palos. In 2012, he won

the medal of Valor for saving a woman from a house fire.

He was an absolute hero. Unfortunately in September

2015, we lost him to suicide. We can only imagine the

horrors that he and many other

First Responders see on the

job every day. Currently there is

no mandatory counseling or mental health screenings required to

deal with the day-to-day distress. We believe counseling can save

lives. RE;ACT is fighting for awareness of mental health issues in

such a proud profession, providing counseling to these heroes that

keep us safe and offering support of Ryan's passion for continued

training at the Illinois Fire Institute. We are holding our next

fundraiser as a Golf Outing on Wednesday August 28th, 2019 at

Silver Lakes Country Club in Orland Park, IL in hopes of bringing

a better quality of life to those who save ours regularly.

Mission

RE;ACT celebrates the life of Lt. RYAN ELWOOD, strives to create AWARENESS for the battle he fought, campaigns for much needed COUNSELING to help his fellow Fire Fighters and First Responders who face the same challenges each day and funds TRAINING to benefit the profession for which he was so passionate.

The semicolon is included as it has come to represent hope and love for those who are struggling with depression, suicide, addiction and self-injury.

Supports:

Illinois Firefighter Peer Support, Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance, The Illinois Fire Service Institute at U of I and supports select Fire Dept. Training budgets. Additional funds raised are allocated to support awareness in the forms of videos, postcard mailings, posters and other support for changing the stigma and culture of silence that surrounds emotional well-being among Fire Fighters and First Responders.