The Cleveland Association of Rescue Employees has recognized the value of providing a way for their members and family members to deal with personal and/or professional problems. A successful 
approach to this problem has been to provide a program which offers a non- professional (peer)  support program in addition to the current professional Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and Ease @ Work, provided to you as an employee of the City of Cleveland. The peer support program is composed of a group of peers who have volunteered to make themselves available to any members of C.A.R.E. This will provide a way for the C.A.R.E. membership and/or their family members to talk out personal and/or professional problems confidentially with someone who understands and cares.

The City of Cleveland, Department of Safety, Division of EMS’s most valuable resource is its employees. The peer support program’s goal is to assist peers and/or family members with stresses caused by personal and/or professional problems and help them continue to be a productive member of the Division of EMS.

On February 15, 2018, the "CARE Cleveland Area EMS - Critical Incident Stress Management Team" was offcially certified

Below is your current Peer Support Advisor team members. They are volunteering their time to be there for you in your time of need. 

Please understand the limitations of an advisor who is on duty. If a Peer Support Advisor is made aware of a member in need of assistance and it will interrupt their on-duty obligations, they are to refer the member to the CARE Peer Support Hotline and attempt to contact an off-duty Peer Support Advisor at their earliest appropriate convenience.

Des Anderson
Reggie Anderson
Pam Beavers
Chelief Caldwell
Brad Davis
Rev. Dave Enzman
Danielle Forkapa
Dr. Jennifer Franklin, PHD
David Jockers
Sharon Kaleal
Jodi Lipnick, BSN
Anthony McGaw
Paul Melhuish
Dan Nemeth
Tomeika Oliver
Dave Sirl, EMS Coordinator
Marilyn Vasicek
Jennifer Wagar
Mike Wagar
Laurie Walworth
Jon Wearstler

As our Peer Support Team gets up and running, you may begin to notice CARE members wearing these wristbands. The turquoise color represents suicide prevention awareness. The members who wear them have been trained in the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation - Basic Group CISM training. These members are certified by the State of Ohio and official members of the "CARE Cleveland Area EMS - Critical Incident Stress Management Team".

While much more info will be coming out to all CARE membership soon, it cannot be stressed enough that the policy of the this team is to maintain confidentiality. Communication between a Peer Support Advisor and a member is considered CONFIDENTIAL except for matters which involve the following:

• Danger to self
• Danger to others
• Suspected child abuse
• Narcotic offenses (sales or transportation)
• Domestic violence
• Factual elderly abuse
• In cases were law requires divulgence
• Where divulgence is requested by the peer

In these situations where a concern or a question regarding confidentiality arise, it is mandatory for the Peer Support Adviser to immediately contact the Program Director and/or Assistant Director who will take appropriate action.