Nonprofit ready to help address trauma after in line of duty death
'I don't think people have a good understanding of the trauma that first responders witness on a daily basis,' Clinical Director for The Battle Within, Jamie Wehmeyer, said.
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The Battle Within says it's ready and able to provide help and services for those who need it.
'We are standing at the ready. With our Frontline Therapy Network, at the beginning of the week, we reached out to them and said, 'Who has immediate availability to see somebody who is in crisis?'' Wehmeyer shared.
The Kansas City community and beyond are mourning the loss of firefighter-paramedic Graham Hoffman.
'The community is amazing right now. Everybody is loving on the family. Everyone is loving on the fire department, but in three weeks, people move on because that's what we do, and that's when we need to make sure that we are present because when it gets quiet, that's when we know the suffering starts.'
Hoffman died over the weekend while on the job, investigators say, at the hands of a patient he was serving.
'We've reached out to a lot our folks, our alumni, knowing the impact of an event like this,' Wehmeyer shared.
'Those first responders, who were either directly impacted, because they were also on the scene, or his station house brothers and sisters, right on down the line, right now, they are just in survival mode, they are just trying to deal with the crisis of getting through the next few days. What we anticipate is that in the coming weeks, we will be getting folks who are really needing additional support and additional services.'
Wehmeyer says addressing trauma takes time, and the organization is standing by.'When the parade shooting happened, we had an influx of folks who came into both our five-day program and our Frontline Therapy Network, and I anticipate that will happen again,' she said.
The Battle Within serves veterans, first responders and frontline health care workers, and says all traumas are worthy of treatment.
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TBW offers different programs, including the Revenant Journey, a five-day group therapy program created by veterans and first responders to help others suffering from PTSD understand trauma they've endured in service, provides an introduction to integrative tools that set the stage for healing, and develop a community of support.
Since 2018, there have been 434 Revenant Journey graduates.
There's also the Frontline Therapy Network, where individuals are interviewed to determine the proper method of therapy and who may be providing it.
The Battle Within says it offers six free therapy sessions to treat traumas.
TBW says, since 2018, over 2,500 hours of Frontline Therapy services have been provided.
You can learn more and sign up for services here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Nonprofit ready to help address trauma after in line of duty death
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