Twenty-One Las Vegas Citizens Now Trained in Crisis Intervention

Published on Fri, Aug 1, 2014 (5:07 p.m.)

Submitted by Trauma Intervention Program (TIP) of Southern Nevada, Inc.

TWENTY-ONE LAS VEGAS CITIZENS NOW TRAINED IN CRISIS INTERVENTION

Las Vegas, NV, August 1, 2014 – Twenty one Las Vegas citizens are now trained to respond to traumatic scenes in Clark County. These volunteers belong to the Trauma Intervention Program (TIP) of Southern Nevada, Inc. and will respond to scenes of tragedy - most of the time involving a death in a home - to provide emotional and practical support during investigations to family, friends, witnesses, and bystanders. TIP Volunteers are requested by all the emergency service agencies in Clark County and respond to over 1,400 calls per year.

“This is not your typical volunteer position,” Jill Bernacki, CEO says, “it takes a very special person to be willing to run into someone’s darkest moment. They are going to be on some very, very emotional scenes with such an important role. We are honored to welcome these new volunteers. ”

The twenty one volunteers completed an intense thirty-six hour training academy, which consists of emotional first aid, working effectively on a crime scene, the processes of the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner, and many more important related topics. Volunteers are highly screened and must complete a thorough background investigation to become certified. Volunteers will complete three months of field training prior to responding to scenes alone. The new volunteers join fifty seven active volunteers who respond to scenes within thirty minutes of the initial request.

“When TIP volunteers are on-scene, these families are going through possibly the most difficult time of their life. They are such an important part of the Clark County Coroner’s Office – their service is invaluable to us,” says John Fudenberg, Assistant Coroner of the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner

The Trauma Intervention Program (TIP) of Southern Nevada, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that those who are emotionally traumatized in emergency situations receive the assistance they need. Highly-trained and screened citizen volunteers are called to emergency scenes to assist family members, witnesses, and other bystanders directly on-scene, during the investigation.

You can support the organization by visiting www.tipoflasvegas.org or calling (702) 229-0426.

###

For media inquiries, please contact Jill Bernacki at (702) 301-5545 or [email protected].