Howze coming to Van Wert this fall

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

In an effort to address the growing mental health challenges faced by first responders and others, Van Wert Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 681 and the Van Wert Fire Department will host a powerful and inspiring event featuring internationally recognized speaker, author and former first responder Travis Howze.

The event is scheduled for Saturday, November 1, at LifeHouse Church in Van Wert. It will bring together firefighters, law enforcement officers, EMS professionals, dispatchers, military veterans and mental health advocates to open up honest conversations about trauma, burnout and resilience in public safety professions.

Members of the fire department and Van Wert Police Department gathered Wednesday morning to announce the upcoming event and discuss the importance of it. Howze’s appearance has been in the works for over a year and Fire Captain Brian Ankney said Local 681 provided funds to secure the date. Since then, many local businesses and organizations have shown their support for the event.

Howze, a former firefighter, police officer and U.S. Marine will bring what’s described as a uniquely raw and personal perspective to the issue of post-traumatic stress. After surviving career-ending injuries and the loss of several colleagues, Howze turned to comedy and public speaking as a way to cope and to help others heal. Now, he shares his journey across the country, encouraging those in uniform to speak up, seek help and reclaim their mental well being.

“We spend our entire careers saving others,” Howze said. It’s time we start saving ourselves. Mental health should be a priority, not a stigma.”

“We’re actually to the point where we’re losing more police officers and firefighters annually to suicide (nationally) than we are in line of duty deaths,” Ankney said.

Howze’s mental health issues started in his childhood and culminated in June, 2007, while a member of the Charleston, South Carolina Fire Deparment.

“Nine firefighters perished during the Sofa Super Store fire and he was on the body recovery team and that’s what pushed him to develop his “Create Your Own Light” book and podcast,” Ankney explained. “He talks to us like he’s sitting at the dinner table with us, like he’s riding in the cruiser next to the officers – he was one of us and he knows how we speak, he knows how we respond to that sort of thing. That’s what makes his message so powerful.”

“We’re excited to have him come because he has experience with first responders and what they see on a daily basis that most people never see in their whole life,” Chief Jon Jones said. “He gets it out there where people are more easily able to share those feelings and their concerns or whatever they’re thinking at the time. The stigma over the years with fire, EMS and police is we have to be ‘tough guys’ and keep that all to ourselves and now that’s changing – we’re talking more about it amongst ourselves about how it affects us.”

Chief Jones also said any leftover money from the Howze’s appearance will be used to set up a fund to pay for assistance or counseling for future first responders in need.

Tickets for the event are $20 each and will go on sale this Friday, August 1. They can be purchased here or here. The doors to the November 1 event at LifeHouse Church will open at 8 a.m. and the program will begin at 9 a.m. The church seats about 800 people.

“We’re hoping to fill LifeHouse Church that Saturday morning,” Ankney said.