TARRANT COUNTY (WBAP/KLIF News) – Almost 70 North Texans will be riding their motorcycles across Tarrant County Saturday to raise awareness for a dark secret among the first responder community…suicide.
MedStar’s Matt Zavadsky said suicide rates among first responders are higher than that of the rest of the population.
A recently study by the Ruderman Foundation shows that in 2017, there were at least 140 police officer suicides, 103 firefighter suicides and 17 emergency medical technician suicides.
Zavadsky said the reason the Tarrant County ambulance service is hosting the event is two fold.
“To educate the public and let people know in the first responder community that it’s okay to not be okay and here are some resources that you might be able to reach out to,” he said.
Participants will meet at MedStar in Fort Worth at 2900 Alta Mere Drive at 8:30 a.m. and depart for their destination in Glen Rose at 9 a.m.
They’ll stop at the Back Porch Grill for lunch at 11 and make the trek to get back to MedStar by 1 p.m.
Zavadsky said even if the public can’t make it to the event, there is something simple that everyone can do.
“First, recognize that they have a very difficult job to do and when you see a first responder, police officer, firefighter, EMS worker… thank them for what they do… thank them for their sacrifice,” he said.
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