Netjets US Summer 2023

COURTESY FIRST RESPONDERS’ BRIDGE
scene, like he was right there, even though
it happened 15 years ago. “I was absolutely
being retraumatized all the time,” he says,
wishing he had done more to prevent a child’s
death or replaying the horrifying moment when
he took a life in the line of duty.
By the end of the retreat, Bizzarro and
his wife had reconnected. When they got
home, he found a therapist through The
Bridge network, he began carving out “date
night” with his kids, he found joy through
work again, and color returned to his gray
world. “First responders see things that
no human should ever have to see or deal
with, and that is part of the job,” Bizzarro
says. “The Bridge helped me realize that
the stigma of the heroes not needing help
is so far from the truth, that it’s OK for
us to call for help. If it wasn’t for the fact
that my wife found The Bridge, and gave me
the ultimatum, I don’t know if I would be
here talking to you.” He recently attended
his son’s high-school graduation and
celebrated his 20th wedding anniversary.
Stories like Bizzarro’s are common, Yinger
says. “One of the things we let them know
is there is nothing wrong with them. They
are having a normal human reaction to
the abnormal things they see on the job
every day,” he explains. Through speakers
and breakout sessions, they discuss
communication, not only among significant
others but among their peers, the public,
and leadership. They discuss that living
with post-traumatic stress does not have
to be a life sentence. They encourage first
responders to recognize when they are
impacted by a critical incident and give them
tools—peer groups, exposure to clinicians,
even just the right vocabulary—to deal with
it immediately. “We encourage them to join
a support group, learn meditation, and to
understand all they can about trauma to
shift their thoughts from ‘What is wrong
with me?’ to ‘What is going on with me?’”
Yinger says. The outcomes are all positive.
One police chief recently told him that he
has had 10 officers attend First Responders’
Bridge retreats and reported that those
officers got fewer complaints and resorted
to force far less often than before they
attended. To date, more than 1,100 first
responders from 36 states have participated
in the events, and Yinger believes he could
host a sold-out retreat every month. Next up
is providing six free therapy sessions after
the weekend, for which Yinger and Pavolino
are currently fundraising.
“There are so many people struggling out
there, but we don’t sit around police stations
and fire departments and talk about our
feelings. So when they look around and see
115 people in the ballroom just like them,
that is when the healing can begin,” says
Yinger. “Our attendees frequently tell us, ‘You
saved my life.’” firstrespondersbridge.org
HEALING STAGE
The Bridge retreats allow
first responders to talk
through their issues.
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