After years as a dispatcher, numbness became a warning sign. Once strong and composed, she found herself overwhelmed by PTSD, struggling with sleep, anxiety, and loss of joy. Therapy brought clarity but also frustration, as trauma never stopped coming. Still, she holds hope of rediscovering the person she used to be.

By: Kjelse Rittmeyer Editor's note: as part of our blog contest, this particular blog is part three in a series of six, each on the experiences of different telecommunicators. "My brother is on the floor by his bed, and I think he's dead!" "There's someone outside, and they're trying to get in." "What time is it?" "Help me - I've been taken by a man in a truck!" "My 8-year-old son will not go to school." "We're at home, and my wife is about to give birth!" "I've killed

My husband, JuVon, works exclusively from home as an I.T. Help Desk Supervisor for a major retailer, where he supports the 24-hour stores in the U.S. and its territories. During a typical 12-hour shift, he assists callers on a variety of technical issues: from barcode scanner malfunctions to complex pharmaceutical equipment problems. The night of May 31, however, was anything but typical for him… or for any of us, really. Protests against the atrocious murder of George Floyd

By: Brandy Cooper Editor's note: as part of our blog contest, this particular blog is part two in a series of six, each on the experiences of different telecommunicators. Day 1 – September 2, 2014 A 24 year old girl walks into a communications center for the first time. Bright eyes full of pride and happiness to start her new job as a 911 Dispatcher. Learning so many new words on her first day such as PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point, or 911 center), CAD (Computer Aided D

Editor's note: This special blog comes to us from the winner of our first ever blog contest: Janelle Williams, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Congratulations and thank you! This blog is part one in a series of six, each on the experiences of different telecommunicators. For most people, including myself, being a 911 dispatcher is not something that you grow up believing that you’ll be. Police officer, firefighter, paramedic, doctor or nurse are all careers that kids dress up as on

Sometimes the reasons that motivated us to become a 911 Telecommunicator aren't the same reasons we still do it. We took to Facebook and asked: What motivates you to keep putting on that headset every day? These are the responses... Jessica Blair - Strasburg,Virginia - dispatch for Warren CO- dispatching for 18 years. Reason I keep putting my headset on is because I know that I’m here to help people the best I can. I want my Deputies to go home safe and sound. Kjelse Sonja

Editor's note: In our previous blogs, we have talked about the importance of self-care as well as the symptoms associated with compassion fatigue, or burn-out.  A few symptoms of burn-out include a lack of empathy, exhaustion, and an increase in drug and/or alcohol abuse. This blog focuses on the extreme end of the latter - addiction - and it comes to us from a fellow first responder.   Initially, we had some concern about potential backlash from those who don't understand t

This is a special blog with contributions from everyone on the Humanizing the Headset Team. Where do I even start? My attention span has decreased greatly. I have trouble remembering things. Large crowds and loud parties make me anxious. All the noise and the need to pay attention is distracting. I want to focus on all the conversations, not just the one going on in front of me. Makes for sensory overload. I drive home in silence on some rare occasions. Despite all t

By: Jill Blankley Hello everyone. Thank you for being part of the outstanding community that Humanizing the Headset is becoming! I have worn the headset for nearly 26 years with the same agency in northeastern Illinois. For the past five years, I have done so while living with Parkinson's disease and am currently at Stage two (there are five total stages). April is Parkinson's Awareness month and in honor of that, I was asked to share my story with you. Let's begin with a min

By: Amy Pullen & Terra Pearson First off, I would like to thank Humanizing the Headset for contacting me and asking me to share my story. We all have that “one” call that will stick with us forever, this is mine…. Before dispatching, I worked as a Medical Assistant in various departments for approximately 11 years and absolutely loved my job. From working in the lab to rooming patients to casting tech in Ortho, I loved it all. In 2008 I was working for Essentia Health in Vir

By: Brendhan T. Sears **WARNING: this blog contains material that is not suitable for younger audiences, and may act as a trigger for some readers with PTSD. ** By this point, you're probably all familiar with Verizon's first responder ad that aired during the Superbowl. Here it is if you haven't seen it: Dispatchers and their supporters from all over immediately took to social media to voice their disappointment and frustration, including us. It is a good commercial. We

By: Cori Johnson The other night, I was working second shift as a call taker. It was an average shift, not much in the way of excitement or major incidents. About thirty minutes before my shift was over, I took a 911 call… “911, where is your emergency?” A male voice that sounded sad and muffled said, “I need help.” I feverishly hit all of my ALI [Automatic Location Identification] buttons to bring up his location and asked him what the address was so I could send him help.

Humanizing the Headset has developed a theme for the month of October: Dispatcher Health Awareness. We are going to be discussing physical and mental health issues that affect us and the communities we serve. Our goal is to enhance the awareness of these issues so that we are better equipped to handle them in both our personal and professional lives. This very special story comes to us from fellow dispatcher, Leslie White, a breast cancer survivor. We'll also be hearing fro

Humanizing the Headset has developed a theme for the month of October: Dispatcher Health Awareness. We are going to be discussing physical and mental health issues that affect us and the communities we serve. Our goal is to enhance the awareness of these issues so that we are better equipped to handle them in both our personal and professional lives. One of the many monthly observances for October is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month, and October 15th is Pregnancy &

By: Juan Acevedo Humanizing the Headset has developed a theme for the month of October: Dispatcher Health Awareness. We are going to be discussing physical and mental health issues that affect us and the communities we serve. Our goal is to enhance the awareness of these issues so that we are better equipped to handle them in both our personal and professional lives. Our next story comes from fellow dispatcher, Juan Acevedo. He's going to be telling us about this amazing

Humanizing the Headset has developed a theme for the month of October: Dispatcher Health Awareness. We are going to be discussing physical and mental health issues that affect us and the communities we serve. Our goal is to enhance the awareness of these issues so that we are better equipped to handle them in both our personal and professional lives. Our first story comes from one of our Admins, Cori Johnson. She's going to be telling us about the power of positivity and

By: Neva Squires-Rodriguez When people find out what I do for a living the first question they usually ask is what the most difficult call I’ve ever taken was. It doesn’t seem to matter what setting I am in, it happens at family barbeques, while out at a bar with non-dispatcher friends, or even at the family Thanksgiving table. Does anyone else cringe when they think about answering this question? I often lie to them, telling them what they want to hear. I tell them about my

By Brendhan T. Sears It was a cooler morning, the prelude of a changing season giving way to an otherwise gorgeous day. I was 22 and still living at home – as most 22-year-olds are these days. My shift at a popular restaurant in Lake Forest, an affluent suburb just north of Chicago, wasn’t scheduled to begin until 11 that morning, and that was all the excuse I needed to sleep in. That plan, however, was interrupted. My mother burst into my room shortly after the second plane