Empowering First Responder Families Peer Support Group©

Since 2024, Empowering First Responder Families Peer Support Group © has been dedicated to providing professional and compassionate support for the families of first responders (police, fire, paramedics, 911 dispatchers) across Ontario and Alberta. Within this field, we understand the vital role that first responder family members play in this world. We recognize the unique challenges and sacrifices they face, and we are committed to offering the resources, tools, and psychoeducation needed to navigate these difficulties. Our mission is to educate, and empower families with the knowledge and understanding to be there for themselves and their loved ones who are on the front lines every day. We believe that by supporting the families, we are ultimately support the first responders themselves. We are proud to be a trusted source of guidance and support for the brave and selfless individuals who serve our communities. From Support. To Strength. To Thrive.

Peer Support Group outcomes

1

Peer Support Group Assistance
Our group offers access to a range of expertise and lived experiences dialing the spectrum of social and mental wellbeing.

2

Comprehensive Resources
We offer our community members with a collection of guided resources that are available online to provide assistance and support.

3

Post trauma Support
You responded. You were able to your job. However, there is still a lingering sense of unease. After each critical incident, it can take up to three days to fully recall and process the events. We offer both facilitator-guided and self-guided assessments following each critical incident. Critical incidents can be: A suicide or death of a colleague
A fatality involving children or adolescents
Multiple casualty incidents (e.g., mass shootings, car pileups)
Prolonged operations with gruesome or tragic outcomes
Calls involving someone you know or are connected to
Situations where you couldn’t save someone despite your best efforts
Line-of-duty deaths or serious injuries

Empowering Lens©: A proactive mental health program

The Empowering Lens© is an innovative and proactive mental health program, designed specifically for first responders (at any stages of their career) and their partners or family members. This comprehensive half-day workshop aims to reduce stigma and increase awareness of the psychological impacts of the job, while providing valuable psycho-education on mental health prevention. By equipping participants with the knowledge and tools to protect themselves and one another, this program also helps to mitigate the risk of endured trauma. With a focus on understanding on the concept of resilience , building growth and promoting overall well-being, Empowering Lens© offers a proactive approach to addressing mental health concerns in the demanding field of first responders.

Empowering Lens© Workshop



  • This half a day workshop will share a proactive psycho-educational approach to an overall biopsychosocial perspective, where we explore more than definitions and lingos in the first responder world. Proactive is often defined and preparedness of what can come before it arrives. In our first responder world the unknown is manifested and trained to be prepared what no one can predict. Empowering Lens© provides a filled space for the gap for first responders, their partners /family member that some preparedenss is doable and tangible through awareness. Workshops will be focusing on providing tools and skills needed to navigate the first responder experience that promotes resiliency and overall stability.

  • Workshop Outcomes

  • A safe space that provides proactive ongoing tools through structured modules. In this space you will learn on how to cope with the career in uniform, enhance communication with your partner/family member and are able to implement the modules, that can navigate difficult conversations and decisions with your loved ones.
*Disclaimer: This program is NOT to be replicated, copied, and/or distributed. This is the legal property rights of Empowering Lens ©powered by Embracing Empowerment Counselling Services© All rights reserved. No duplication of all intellectual property without full written permission from creator/owner. Trademarking in progress.

Care Behind The Badge

Parul Shah - Founder/creator of Empowering First Responder Families Peer Support and Empowering Lens©

In life, we often say “we wear many hats”.
In the first responder world , boots on the ground depicts physically connecting, caring, assessing, protecting , saving a situation in real time.
As a first responder family member, we wear both forms of this analogy.
Families are often dismissed towards assessing, connecting, protecting and understanding the injured. And the irony, families are often the first to see the misalignment of the psyche.

Leaving us, as the forgotten ones within the first responder world.
Yet, what if, there was a space where we get to understand each other.
Imagine having a space where we have tools to deal with an aftermath of a shift even before it begins, those who welcome loved ones dealing with things we want to understand and being understood. Imagine a world that permits a human to learn the challenges of what it may be like to live within the first responder space.Families wear many hats, often change footwear to match the situation and never falters for wanting to understand the psychological life of a first responder . Walking in someone else’s footwear is designed to know what may appear on the outside is the opposite to what we feel in the inside. Like the saying “not all wounds are visible” I’m a very proud first responder family member for over 24 years and the shoes I wear that requires to understand boots on the ground, is a mission I continue to strive every day within my job, within this space, in my PhD candidacy, as a human and in my home.



What Support Looks Like

Empowering First Responders & Families
We strive to provide families of first responders with the security, strength and resilience they need in challenging times through guidance, resources through our bi-weekly peer support groups (virtual / in person )and through proactive/psycheducational workshops.
Wellness Tools
At Empowering First Responder Families Peer Support Group, we provide a wide selection of resources, workshops and tools that help families stay well and connected.
Professional Support
When necessary we provide an updated vetted list of professionals to increase the wellbeing of families of first responders. Our guidance is within the accordance of Mental Health Commission Of Canada , Licensed and insured through Regulatory Colleges and through various Peer Support Training.

Past Events 2025

Upcoming events in 2026

Want to Attend? Contact Us

Contact Info
Email: empoweringfirstresponderfamili@gmail.com
Peer Support Group Hours
  • Tuesdays 6:00pm-7:30pm Bi-Weekly (In Person/Virtual)
  • Dates:

  • March 3, 2026(Virtual)( Ontario & Alberta)
  • March 17, 2026(Virtual) ( Ontario & Alberta)
  • March 31, 2026
  • April 7, 2026 (Virtual) (Ontario & Alberta)
  • April 21, 2026
  • May 5, 2026 (Virtual) (Ontario & Alberta)
  • May 19, 2026

  • Location : Kanata, Ontario ( For -In Person) Exact Location: Not publicly disclosed
  • Small admin fee per in person group attendance: Payable to empoweringfirstresponderfamili@gmail.com
  • Virtual Peer Support Group Dates: secured Link will be provided via email. COMING SOON!
  • Virtual peer support groups across Alberta in February 2026!
  • Professional Workshops and Training continue in Spring 2026! Our psycho-educational workshops are expanding!. SPECIAL DATES: Half a day workshop for EMPOWERING LENS (in person ) 2pm till 6pm EST Winter /Spring Cohort 2026 - coming soon! Fee per First Responder couple or first responder/family member 300.00 dollars. E-receipt will be provided for insurance purposes. Group Rates for Tri-services in house workshop available upon request. Training or workshops for mental health professionals and clinics available. For more details email us at empoweringfirstresponderfamili@gmail.com or info@embracingempowerment.com
Empowering First Responder FamIlies Peer Support Group
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© Copyright 2026 Empowering First Responder Families Peer Support Group is empowered by Embracing Empowerment Counselling Services. All rights reserved. All registered trademarks herein are the property of their respective owners.