LANE COUNTY, OR—Trauma Intervention Programs Inc. (TIP) is a national nonprofit organization working with local public safety officials in Lane County to establish a TIP Lane County Chapter. A TIP Chapter is a group of very well-trained and supervised community volunteers who are called by emergency personnel to tragic scenes to provide support to those who have been affected. TIP Volunteers are often called to support family members after a sudden death and to support those who have experienced an unexpected crisis in their lives.
“Residents of this community who have just experienced a tragedy should not be alone in what may be the worst few hours of their lives,” according to Mandy Atkission, TIP National CEO. “Our volunteers provide support until the family members and friends of the survivor are able to be there and offer support,” she said.
Captain Doug Mozan from the Eugene Police Department is working closely with the TIP of Lane County program. “When we are able to provide care for those who are experiencing trauma in the moment, we can lessen impacts down the road, and begin healing immediately. We know from experience that people heal faster and experience less disorder from trauma when early intervention occurs. This is why we’re excited to have TIP National volunteers in our community. Currently crisis responders from CAHOOTs assist with grief support on scenes. When TIP responders join our ranks, we’ll have our CAHOOTs resources more available for in-progress crisis intervention.”
Bridget Byfield is the Program Director of the new TIP of Lane County, and she is now recruiting local residents to be TIP Volunteers. “The first step in establishing a TIP Chapter is to recruit volunteers willing to reach out and help their neighbors when tragedy strikes,” said Bridget Byfield, Program Director, TIP of Lane County. We hope that Lane County residents will respond to our invitation to join TIP,” she said.
The TIP Volunteer Training Academy will begin Thursday, March 2nd, 2023. No experience is necessary and volunteers must pass a background check. To view the training schedule go towww.tiplanecounty.org
To register, please call or email Bridget at: Phone: (503)705-2966 or Email: [email protected]
George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.
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