10th Annual
‘Helping the Helpers’

In 1995, Jason began his career in the public service as a Corrections Officer first at the Cumberland Correctional Facility in Amherst and then at the Cape Breton Correctional Facility in Sydney. Jason became a leader in his Union Local and soon was elected to the NSGEU Board of Directors, Provincial Executive, and became President in 2016. As President, he strives to be a leader focused on solving problems and making the province a fairer, more equitable place to work and live. Jason is also a leader within the larger labour community. He serves as the 1st Vice President of the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour and the Executive Vice President of the National Executive Board for the National Union of Public & General Employees (NUPGE). Jason was selected to attend the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference Program in 2015 and is a graduate of the distinguished Harvard Trade Union program. When he is not advocating on behalf of NSGEU members and the working people of Nova Scotia, Jason enjoys spending quality time with his family: he is married and the father of three children: Tasia, Tyler, and Jalen.

John Garth was a supervisor EMC for the Antigonish/Guysborough counties from 2005 – 2010, where he provided leadership and supervision to 30 staff. Continuing his commitment to patient care, he furthered his education and completed his Advanced Care Paramedic Diploma in 2006 and was one of the first Advanced Care Paramedic in the Antigonish area.

John Garth carried many provincial committee responsibilities for EMC and volunteer committees taking him across the province. In 2010 he received the NS Provincial Long Service Medal Award. Nominated by his peers, he also received the national Emergency Medical Services Exemplary Service Medal. He continued to be an Advanced Care Paramedic until the time of his injury in 2010.

John Garth joined the Industrial Paramedics Services of Alberta in 2012 where he is a Clinic Coordinator. He is a strong advocate for PTSD and mental health and is the Chairperson of this Education Day.

Thankfully, through the hard work of the negotiating team, John was released with minimal physical injuries. But it would be the invisible injuries that would have the most profound effect and that would end up testing him as an individual, husband, and father. John dedicates much of his time advocating for first responders and their families. John and his wife Daniela Tsentouros have spoken openly and candidly about their healing through podcasts and interviews. John is pleased to tell his story and return to the Helping the Helpers Day of Education and Awareness for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Paul has achieved the following certifications: Addictions Counselor, Suicide Intervention Master Trainer, MADD Canada Death Notification Trainer, Bereavement Facilitator, Trauma Responder, Trauma Field Traumalogist, Trauma Services Specialist, Compassion Fatigue Educator, Peer Support and ICISF Approved Instructor

Paul is of First Nation’s Mi’kmaq ancestry and has also worked with the Native Community in the Maritimes as the Liaison Officer between the Halifax Regional Police and the Native Community.

Tracy holds a Master of Health Studies with a focus on Leadership from Athabasca University, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from St. Francis Xavier University, is a Certified Health Executive (CHE), trained Just Culture Facilitator, and in the final stages of completing the Comprehensive Holistic Nurse, Nurse Coach & Consultant Certificate Program, through the Canadian Institute of Integrative Nursing and Development and Education (CIINDE). In her spare time Tracy enjoys a peaceful life with her husband, four children, 2 dogs, and travelling as a surveyor with Accreditation Canada. Tracy leads an active life and enjoys all things outdoors and making the most of every season living on the east coast of Canada. Tracy enjoys speaking about her experiences as a front-line nurse, manager, and weaving the many adventures of living with a chronic illness and being a mom to share messages of embedding the basics of creating and building wellness into the day to day.

Tabitha Irving:
After graduating from The Maritime School of Paramedicine, Saint John, NB in 2002, Tabitha was sure her career would be spent in New Brunswick. After tagging along “as company” for EMC inc. orientation with a classmate she was packing her family up by February 2003 to start her career as a Primary Care Paramedic in Nova Scotia.

In December 2019 Tabitha’s career took an unplanned turn when she found herself unable to hide the internal struggle she was fighting, putting her off work with a PTSD diagnosis. By December 2022, despite Tabitha’s efforts, she chose to leave paramedicine permanently.

Despite leaving her career behind Tabitha was determined to find a healthy, functional life again. She developed self-advocacy and self-love through trauma focused treatment and the use of complementary treatments. Now that Tabitha finds herself living in her post-traumatic GROWTH phase of life, she is inspired to share with others what she wishes she knew while navigating her journey.

Jeniffer Hilling:
Jeniffer Hilling is an Occupational Therapist with over 30 years of clinical experience. She has always had a passion for working with individuals with emotional, and psychological illnesses and injuries. As an Occupational therapist she works with individuals to learn new or regain the skills required to live work and play in meaningful and valued activities and roles.

Jeniffer has been trained in trauma focused treatment and psychosocial rehabilitation. She draws on various modalities to work with individuals with psychological injury including graded exposure, behavioural activation, and value driven choice points when facing daily life challenges.

Kathy remained in the military for 6.5 years while she completed her Criminology degree at the University of Alberta. She was then recruited by the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) as a Signals Officer at Headquarters and Signals at CFB Edmonton. Kathy remained with the EPS for 20 years and has a lived understanding of the military and first responder culture. While working at the EPS, she came to realize the significant need to support first responders and their mental health. She completed her Masters of Counselling in Counselling Psychology while working as a Sergeant with the EPS. She left the EPS in 2019 to work in the psychology field full-time.

In her career as a psychologist, Kathy specializes in trauma work with First Responders, Military personnel, and Veterans. She is also an associate professor at Simon Fraser University since 2018, where she teaches the Organizational Structure and Stigma Reduction course as a component of the First Responders Trauma Prevention and Recovery certificate. She recently received her doctorate through California Southern University, and her thesis was on identity loss in first responders who undergo early medical retirement due to psychological injuries – which is also what she is presenting on today.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, running, travelling, and – while she is really bad at it – golfing.

Rob does this through his mental health education and advocacy efforts, mental health related digital artwork, and peer support with various 1st responder peer support organizations. Rob is passionate about helping those whose organizational roles involve mental health program development.

“Silence does nothing but strengthen stigma and when we recover loudly, we keep others from dying quietly so speak up, speak out and speak loudly when it comes to all things 1st responder mental health related”

He went on to become a respected project manager for an international engineering firm with projects in Canada, US, Mexico, and South America. He is known for his dynamic approach to problem solving, keen attention to detail, and data driven practices. He has the unique talent of fostering positive morale in the workplace, and enjoys organizing team building events and cultivating an overall positive working environment.

John earned his Masters of Science from Columbia Southern University. Additionally, he holds a Bachelor of Arts (Criminology) and has a plethora of other certificates and accomplishments to his name.

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist.”

For the past decade, Katherine has served as a steadfast advocate and liaison, championing the mental well-being of first responders, veterans, and public safety personnel. Now, she brings her compassionate approach and clinical acumen as an RN Psychotherapist, servicing the needs of veterans, their spouses and those involved with the performing arts.

Howard’s medical background allowed him the pleasure of participating in international events including the World Figure Skating Championships, Canadian Winter Games, the World Junior Hockey Championships in 2002-2003, and the Memorial Cup to name a few. Howard is involved in The Children’s Wish Foundation and Air Canada’s Dream Take Flight. He has been involved with first responders for over twenty years as a founding member of the Tema Conter Memorial Trust, now the Tema Foundation. Dedicated to improving the mental and psychological health of first responders.

Annette is very passionate about helping people and through her years at the Board she was able to develop her training and help those with PTSD. This was her favourite part of the job.

Annette enjoys volunteering for Souls Harbour Rescue Mission and creating beach glass pictures and playing with her two golden retrievers.

Trevor served the people of Nova Scotia for 23 years before he made the decision to retire as a paramedic in 2021. Today, he works as an electrician and is a devoted husband and proud father of 3 girls, who Trevor refers to as the greatest motivating factor in his recovery.