A treatment facility in Quebec City is unique in Canada for helping those on the frontlines recover from the suffering they’ve seen.
La Vigile offers an in-patient program especially for police, firefighters, members of the military and veterans battling PTSD, depression and addiction.
Whether they are fighting wars or battling fires here at home, people on the frontlines see the worst kinds of suffering, often leading to post-traumatic stress and broken lives.
The fire in Lac-Megantic, for one, left some firefighters scarred psychologically. Nathalie, a firefighter and current 30-day resident at La Vigile, asked that we not use her last name.
“(I was taking) sleeping pills and alcohol to the point where you really just swirl really low and I ended up sitting on a train track in my truck,” she said.
The sound of fire trucks approaching snapped her out of it.
“As soon as I heard the sirens, I just pulled over and it just dawned on me of what the hell am I doing,” she said.
She is now in a 30-day program at the 16-bed La Vigile facility.
“They endure a lot of distress before coming here because they have that idea that being strong means not needing help,” said La Vigile councillor Audrey Gauthier.
War and the training soldiers receive stays with them years after it ends. For some, it means civilian life is a state of paranoia.
“Something's going to go wrong so what happens is you put yourself in a situation where you're ready to attack or counterattack,” said La Vigile graduate and military veteran Dominique Benoit.
PTSD led to his divorce, but Benoit said La Vigile put things in perspective.
“Are your thoughts right or wrong? Challenge yourself, you know,” he said.
Stress in military and police life has grown. This year alone in Quebec, nine members of the military and nine police officers have taken their own lives.
“It’s alarming,” said director general of La Vigile, Jacques Denis Simard.
For those who do get help, it means finally figuring things out.
“And then the healing can start,” said Nathalie.
