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King Weekly Sentinel https://kingsentinel.com/?p=5207 Export date: Mon Nov 25 3:37:31 2024 / +0000 GMT |
Documentary will reveal ‘The Other Side of the Hero’ EMS?workers from Elgin-St. Thomas Denise Laing, Stephanie Romano, Jill Foster, Shaun Taylor presented a cheque for $20,000 to filmmaker Karen Shopsowitz, actor Enrico Colantoni and Vince Savoia. Photo by Lisa Scale By Mark Pavilons It's all about revealing the true face of humanity and all of its frailties. Heroes are all around us. Remove their stiff outer shell and perhaps you can catch a glimpse of "the other side." That's the focus of a new documentary that hopes to shed some light on post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its impact on first responders. The fact that almost 30 front-line emergency workers have committed suicide in the past seven months should be a massive wake-up call. But it hasn't happened yet. PTSD can be hugely destructive when it comes to living a normal life, with symptoms including flashbacks, anxiety and insomnia, and depending on the scenario, a crushing guilt. These lead to extremely fragile mental health. So far there are some medications that can help alleviate these symptoms on a short term basis, such as using a happy face vape 1, but more research is needed which, in turn, requires far more exposure on the subject than there currently is. Hopefully, the efforts of Heroes are Human/Tema Conter Memorial Trust, backed by Peabody-award-winning Canadian director Karen Shopsowitz and actor Enrico Colantoni, will bring the issue to the forefront. King's Vince Savoia, founder of Heroes are Human, has been diligently working on making PTSD?among responders a national issue. For the past few years, Nobleton's Colantoni, known for his role as a police officer on the Canadian TV?series Flashpoint, is using his talents to further the cause. He acts as national spokesperson and will also appear in a new documentary, "The Other Side of the Hero," by Shopsowitz. At a press conference in Vaughan last week, Heroes are Human representatives accepted a generous $20,000 donation from #IveGotYourBack911, a group of emergency personnel from Elgin-St. Thomas. Their campaign, IveGotYourBack911, started Oct. 1. A group of paramedics, Jill Foster, Stephanie Romano, Denise Laing and Shaun Taylor, were at a point of desperation after hearing the news that two more emergency first responders had committed suicide. The group said enough is enough and felt something must be done! They wanted to attach a human side to first responders and PTSD so they launched the #IVEGOTYOURBACK911 campaign. The goal of this campaign is to create social awareness and to spread the word by having people post pictures on social media holding a sign that says #IVEGOTYOURBACK911. The campaign was developed out of nothing but love and support for first responders everywhere, as well as, all allied agencies. "We aren't fancy, we don't have corporate funding, we don't have major organizations sponsoring us, but what we do have is all of you! We have photos, we have messages, we have amazing stories of courage and perseverance and most of all we have each other," Foster said. For more, visit www.ivegotyourback911.com. The film will plunge viewers into the world of the first responder; the camaraderie and dark humour back at the station and the flip side to all of this – depression, darkness and solitude. These are what happen when a "hero" discovers they are not emotionally immune to what they encounter during a typical shift at work. Things are changing and the consciousness is growing bigger and bigger. This cause is still grass-roots, Colantoni observed, but "we're on the right road." The level of increased awareness is seen in small communities. Savoia led a cross-Canada tour this past summer, doing workshops and presentations literally from coast to coast. "It's very exciting when you meet people who fill a need in their own community,"?Colantoni said. By featuring the testimony of other human beings, the impacts can "become viral." Shopsowitz said the support from the Elgin St. Thomas crew is a great sign of confidence in this special project. Savoia noted that Shopsowitz joined his team during their tour, in cities such as Calgary, St. John's, Kelowna and Kingston, all on her own time, to film some first-hand accounts. Shopsowitz said following the Tema team around, she was simply "blown away" and now she can't wait to see the film completed. The Indiegogo campaign for "The Other Side of the Hero"?offers several "perks"?at a wide range of prices, from coffee mugs and a heartfelt thank you, to breakfast made by Colantoni and Savoia, to a VIP?treatment at the annual gala for the Tema Conter Memorial Trust, held Feb. 28, 2015. Executive producers are Stephanie Morgenstern and Mark Ellis producers of Flashpoint and the upcoming Project X. The funding campaign is ongoing, to meet the costs of finishing the project. "I think the biggest compliment we got for Flashpoint is how we really showed police officers in a vulnerable position, having an emotion, and suffering the consequences of a bad day,"?Colantoni said. "I?think that's what people watching the show identified with. So why is it easier to see it on television, and not in real life?" For Savoia, Colantoni and Shopsowitz, that's the question they hope to answer in the documentary. Savoia is quick to point out that not every first responder will be affected by PTSD, but the resources need to be in place to deal with them when they do need help. For more, visit tema.ca. |
| Excerpt: It’s all about revealing the true face of humanity and all of its frailties. Heroes are all around us. Remove their stiff outer shell and perhaps you can catch a glimpse of “the other side.” |
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Post date: 2014-12-10 09:49:54 Post date GMT: 2014-12-10 14:49:54 Post modified date: 2015-02-25 09:10:58 Post modified date GMT: 2015-02-25 14:10:58 |
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