How to support during NPSTW, advocate for telecommunicators, and support each other.
Every April, the rest of the world recognizes the essential work and mission of public safety telecommunicators.
They see you. They value you. They appreciate you.
From the bottom of their hearts and sometimes from the billfold of their wallets, they show that appreciation. Cards, notes, dinners, snacks, gifts and little surprises. The rest of the world stands up and applauds the literal voice of public safety and the incredible heroes beneath the headset who are always just three digits away from being the public’s lifeline, voice of support, calm in the chaos, counselor, and sometimes, friend.
For one week especially, the rest of the world realizes that it takes a community of some of the most earnest, passionate, and diligent individuals to make sure the right help gets to the right place at the right time, every time.
They also realize, often in the same breath, that this probably isn’t a job they would want because there are things you hear that you can never unhear.
Unlike the sensationalized, made-for-TV versions of 9-1-1 dispatchers, this job isn’t always exciting or adventurous. Sometimes it’s slow. Sometimes it’s routine. Sometimes it’s heavy. Some days feel like a crawl.
But the work is still important.
The mission still matters. Every single time.
How to Support During National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week
I say the rest of the world finally gets it right just about every April. For those of us who wear the headset, or have ever worn the headset, we already know it’s true.
We’ve always known that it takes a community of some pretty awesome, debatably superhuman, individuals to make an emergency communications center run like an efficient machine, along with a whole lot of heart and soul.
But you know what else takes a community? Advocating for and supporting the people beneath the headset. That kind of support should start within our own center. Advocacy in this profession is a group effort. And if we don’t genuinely support each other, then who will?
When we talk about advocacy for 9-1-1, our minds often go straight to legislative action. We think about changing how we’re classified by the federal government.
We think about the states where 9-1-1 professionals still aren’t recognized as First Responders and don’t receive the benefits that come with that title. But advocacy isn’t just about titles and classification.
It’s also about how we show up for each other when no one’s watching. It’s the support we give to each other behind closed doors.
When you truly advocate for something or someone, you fight for them. You fight for what matters to them, and you support them with your whole chest. It takes a community to support a community!
I was recently at a public safety conference, and in one of my classes, I brought up something that I think we often overlook. You just never really know what might be weighing on someone’s heart or mind. We spend eight, 10, sometimes 12 hours a day with the same people, and if you never ask, never open up, never show them that you’re a safe space, you might never realize they showed up to work with an empty or half-empty cup. Maybe they had a rough night. Maybe the morning started off sideways. Maybe it’s been a while since anyone has said a kind word to them or done something thoughtful for them. They still showed up, ready to give 100 percent of themselves from a half-filled cup.
How to Advocate for Public Safety Telecommunicators
Advocacy begins and ends with how we treat each other and how we show up for each other. We forget that even the strongest people have off days.
We all have days when our cup is running low. Days when we don’t feel like ourselves. Days when we’re just not okay.
That’s when we need each other the most.
We owe it to one another to notice those changes – to recognize when someone might need some extra support, to offer encouragement, patience, or just a quiet reminder that we see them.
The truth is, not many people knew that during that very conference, my own cup wasn’t full either.
I woke up that morning in my hotel room with the intention to pour into others through the classes I was teaching. But I was running low too.
Thankfully, before the week ended, I was brimming again. I was filled with joy, inspiration, passion, and encouragement, all because a few close friends took the time to check in and pour into me.
That’s what peer support looks like. That’s what having a true community behind you feels like.
So, I’ll ask you this.
When’s the last time you poured into a coworker’s cup?
When’s the last time you stopped to check in on someone, not just because it was your job but because they were on your heart?
Are we showing up for each other all year-round, or do we sometimes fall into the habit of waiting until National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week to give each other flowers and speak kind words, just like the rest of the world does?
“This work, this mission, this life – it calls for community all year long. “
Support Each Other
This week, as the public, your community, and your fellow first responders pour into your cup and celebrate you, I hope you hold onto that. Let it be fuel to keep celebrating each other next week, and the week after that, and every week that follows…
If you’re a day shifter, show up for your night shifters.
If you’re a nightshifter, have your day shifters’ backs. Supervisors and managers, look out for your people even more closely.
Fight for them. Advocate with your whole heart.
Don’t forget to hype them up every chance you get.
They need it and they deserve it.
Team members, don’t forget your leaders. Check in on your supervisors, especially the ones who seem like they never need checking on. Sometimes, the strongest ones are the ones carrying the most in silence. Lift them up whenever you can. They deserve it too.
My seasoned vets, look out for your new people, your young people, and your trainees.
All the folks still finding their way – speak up for them, include them, and show them they belong here, because they absolutely do.
Whether they’re on Day 2, Day 22, or Year 2, they are part of you and part of the solution to the staffing crisis plaguing our industry.
My new folks, please don’t forget to pour into the veterans too. Let them know they matter. They carry decades of experience, war stories, lessons, and resilience. That kind of wisdom is priceless. Make sure they know they’re valued, every single day.
It takes a village to keep this profession strong and your people even stronger. Never lose sight of that and never lose the UNITY in community.
Happy National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week!
