What started off as an apparel company trying to give back to firefighters turned into a non-profit organization with thousands of followers and a growing team of firefighters who are counselors for other first responders.

Blake Stinnet founded Next Rung in 2018
With his education in psychology, he's the perfect guy to bring an understanding of how we can tackle the difficult topic of mental health.

Next Rung is an incredible program that has a hotline for first responders to call or text to talk. This can be a source of decompression or it can be used to find a professional therapist who's worked with first responders.

They even help with costs if needed.

In this episode Blake and I talk about

• How overcoming the mental health problem is more than just awareness
• Why everyone is different when it comes to talking or not talking
• What we need to do in the fire service to help reduce the stigma
• How YOU can help Next Rung
• What the future looks like

"We want to be there for the positives too, to walk beside you. We want you to know that there's always someone in your corner fighting for you, even if you think no one else in the world is, there's always someone here at Next Rung that is"

Text SUPPORT to 1-(833) 698-7864

-Blake Stinnet, Next Rung Founder