Campaign to raise awareness for first responder mental health across Canada [Video]

They run toward what the rest of us run from — gunfire, flames, and unspeakable tragedy.

For Canada’s first responders, witnessing the unthinkable is part of the job. But what’s often unseen is what they carry with them long after the sirens fade.

“They ask, ‘Are you OK?’” says retired RCMP officer Jonathan Williams. “And I always said, ‘Of course I’m good.’ Because whatever I just came from… was worse.”

Williams served 14 years in the RCMP. He describes his time on the force as meaningful — but behind the uniform was a growing weight he could no longer ignore.

“For me, it was years and years of seeing so much,” he says. “It’s not normal, but you get used to it. And then it just started eroding me.”

What followed was a battle with depression and PTSD — invisible injuries that eventually led him to seek help.

“The recovery program was everything,” …