The Education Committee of the MPSCC is pleased to announce that Ryan Dedmon from the 9-1-1 Training Institute will be our Keynote Speaker at the Fall MPSCC in Kansas City! Ryan will be presenting “Survive & Thrive: A Path through Trauma into Resilience.” As a former dispatcher, he will discuss the accumulation of stress from personal loss and professional trauma that he experienced. His personal story of survival and journey to healing will help empower dispatchers to seek peer support services and mental health treatment to build their resilience. In addition, Ryan will be providing two breakout sessions. On Tuesday he will present “Callers in Crisis.” More often than not, front-line dispatchers are the first point of contact for public-safety agencies. More and more calls for police and fire service involve some type of mental health component, regardless of the call type. This session will help dispatchers identify callers experiencing a mental health crisis, de-escalate that crisis prior to field-responder arrival, and then participate in problem-solving efforts to connect those people with long-term care and services to prevent recurring calls for service. On Wednesday he will present “The Power of Peer Support.” This interactive session will provide a brief overview of the power of peer support and how it can organically optimize working conditions for everyone in the communications center. Attendees will participate in a couple of simple team-building exercises that challenge us to think differently about peer support.
Ryan serves as the Outreach Director for the 9-1-1 Training Institute. As a former dispatcher with the Anaheim (CA) Police Department, he speaks our language and understands our struggles as dispatchers. He also knows what our supervisors, managers and directors need to know to help keep their teams with overall health and wellness. He also is a contributing author to The Resilient 9-1-1 Professional: A Comprehensive Guide to Surviving & Thriving Together in the 9-1-1 Center. He has also contributed writings Journal of Emergency Dispatch, Law Enforcement Today and 9-1-1 Magazine. Ryan blends his education and experience behind the console to help dispatchers and police officers recover and grow from compassion fatigue and post-traumatic stress.
We are very pleased to have him at our conference and look forward to hearing his messages. Look for further updates as we begin putting together our training matrix. Also, we are looking for presenters. The Call for Papers is open now through August 2nd at 11:59pm. Share your knowledge and experiences with others through our conference!