Mental Health Resources For Veterans & First Responders
🇺🇸 For Veterans
1. Veterans Crisis Line
Call/Text: 988 then Press 1
Chat: veteranscrisisline.net
24/7, confidential support for veterans, service members, and their families.
2. VA Mental Health Services
Access care for PTSD, depression, substance use, military sexual trauma, and more.
Services include individual therapy, group therapy, telehealth, and inpatient care.
3. Make the Connection
Personal stories from veterans, searchable by issue (e.g., PTSD, anxiety, grief) and branch.
Find local resources through the interactive locator.
4. Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) — Mental Health & Wellness Programs
Offers Project Odyssey (mental health retreats), talk therapy, and peer support groups.
5. Give an Hour
Provides free mental health services from licensed therapists for veterans, military, and their loved ones.
🚓🚒🚑 For First Responders
6. First Responder Support Network (FRSN)
Offers The West Coast Post-trauma Retreat — a 6-day intensive program for police, fire, EMS, corrections, and dispatchers dealing with critical incident trauma.
7. National Volunteer Fire Council — Share the Load Program
www.nvfc.org/help
Includes a free 24/7 helpline: 1-888-731-FIRE (3473)
Tailored mental health support for firefighters, EMS, and their families.
8. Code Green Campaign
Mental health education and peer support for all emergency services.
Shares real stories to reduce stigma in the responder community.
9. ResponderRel8 (App)
An anonymous peer support app just for first responders to connect, share, and support each other — no rank, no judgment.
💬 Crisis & Peer Support (General)
10. Safe Call Now
Call: 1-206-459-3020
24/7 crisis support and referral line run by first responders for first responders.
Confidential help for substance use, trauma, stress, and suicidal thoughts.
11. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call/Text: 988
National 24/7 crisis line available to anyone in emotional distress.
Press 1 for veterans or stay on the line for general support.
12. Boulder Crest Foundation – Warrior PATHH Program
Free post-traumatic growth programs for combat veterans and first responders focusing on healing, resilience, and leadership.
🧠 Therapist Directories for Military & First Responders
13. Headstrong Project
Confidential, trauma-focused therapy for post-9/11 veterans — free of charge.
14. PTSD Therapists (via Psychology Today)
Filter by “veteran,” “first responder,” “EMDR,” or “trauma-informed” to find therapists with specific expertise.
15. Therapy Aid Coalition
Offers free or low-cost therapy for frontline workers and first responders.
🧭 Final Thought
Being retired military myself, we have lost so many brothers and sisters to preventable mental health issues. Now more than ever it is important to provide resources. Reflecting on my own past experiences, the thing that significantly lacked was resources not only to mental health services, but empathy for those who were suffering. The military and first responder world even though are there to protect their nations and towns are also there to keep the public safe and provide emergency interventions, we must turn this duty to help and protect onto ourselves as first responders and military service. We cannot help others if we cannot help ourselves.
