Mary Ellen responded to a crisis call at an Orange County residence on April 18, where four local fire authorities waited in the front yard for her to support a grieving man whose wife of 75 years had passed away 20 minutes earlier.
When she arrived on scene, she did what she always does when handling these types of situations—provide an “emotional first-aid kit” to help the man grieving through his sudden loss.
“When I arrived, one firefighter said to the others, ‘Thank goodness TIP is here—they are our savior,’” Ellen, a 5-year veteran volunteer with the organization’s Orange County chapter, told The Epoch Times.
TIP is a non-profit founded in 1985, and has 14 affiliates in over 250 cities across the nation.
The organization trains its volunteers, who must undergo a background check, 55 hours of lecture, and role-playing.
TIP volunteers are trained to help victims and their families experiencing what’s called a “Second Injury,” meaning emotional trauma as a result of the incident. It also means assisting with their next steps and any questions they may have.
Aside from deaths in the home, at any given moment, volunteers receive calls to support victims who experience domestic violence, suicide survivors, or family members of a murder victim. TIP also receives calls involving overdoses, drownings, or victims of a fire.
“You never know what we’re walking into when we go on a call,” Ellen said. “And I think that’s part of the uniqueness of the challenge, but also part of the reward. There’s nothing more heart-wrenching and bittersweet than hearing those stories, holding their hand, and helping them through the next steps.”
Mindy Daffron, TIP’s crisis team manager in Orange County, told The Epoch Times that she first heard about the organization 12 years ago when her neighbor was found deceased, and a crisis volunteer showed up to console the family.
“I went there to support but didn’t know what to do or what to say,” Daffron said. “Thankfully, a TIP volunteer came that was able to answer the questions that I couldn’t. They were calm, unaffected by the event, and able to think clearly.”
Daffron said the experience “shocked and impressed” her enough to join the program.
“I wanted to get the skills in case something like that happened again, and once I realized how much of a need there was—12 years later, I’m still here,” she said.
On any given day, the non-profit’s Orange County division, which partners with all but five cities in the county, has up to five volunteers readily available 24-hours a day, 365 days a year.
First responders call TIP volunteers approximately five times per day, according to Daffron.
“These are incidents that you probably don’t hear about in the paper—like suicides, overdoses—and just how often occurrences like that happen in our community.”
