Smith First Responder Wellness Center
First Responders (Fire, Police, Emergency Medical Services, and Dispatchers) face an increasingly dangerous and traumatic work environment. These issues carryover from the workplace and affect families after both immediate critical incidents and after prolonged systematic exposure to trauma. Depression and post traumatic stress related disorders are five times more common in First Responders than the general population. Recent studies have shown that 85% of First Responders report symptoms related to mental health conditions. These issues are compounded as our country and the Mahoning Valley area (Trumbull, Mahoning, and Columbiana counties) face a shortage of First Responders to serve our communities.
Thankfully, there has been a dramatic increase in First Responder wellness initiatives that have been supported by agencies, elected officials, and our communities. These programs have had a positive impact on providing critical resources to our employees. However, a roadblock to First Responders seeking help is their resistance to reach out for these services or even a reluctance to visit facilities where they’ll encounter people they have interacted with in their official capacity.
One aspect of addressing this reluctance is by providing a dedicated place where First Responders feel comfortable and safe. In addition to a safe and comfortable physical environment, a focus can be for an entity to serve as a bridge between First Responders and the existing dedicated mental health programs and personnel already set up to assist them and their families.
The Clarence R. Smith Jr. Family – Mahoning Valley First Responder Wellness Center is a location that can take on this important function in Trumbull, Mahoning, and Columbiana counties which are served by their 152 First Responder agencies. The property, located in Boardman Township, is ideal to serve as a central location for both active and retired First Responders in partnership with area mental health professionals. The Smith Center is not intended to replace existing services, mental health treatment, or area agency wellness programs. The focus will be to serve as a place for First Responders and their families to attend proactive wellness programming. By addressing this on a multi-county level, agencies no matter their size can share resources, programming, and area subject matter experts serving area First Responders in our communities.
Smith Wellness Center Programming
The Ohio Department of Public Safety – Office of First Responder Wellness has set a framework of five pillars of wellness that the Smith Wellness Center will support. Each pillar is an important foundation for First Responders maintaining a safe and healthy perspective which helps them, their families, and the community they serve.
The Smith Center will be available to serve as a training, work-shop, or informational setting for wellness focused subjects. Subject matter experts from the area along with state and federal resources will be leveraged to provide information to First Responders and as appropriate their families. A primary focus will be to facilitate trauma-informed resiliency training, care, and support that address compassion fatigue and increased suicide risk of public safety responders. Some examples of this programming are:
General Wellness Overview
Recovery & Addiction
Diet and Exercise Programs
Financial Wellbeing
Responding With Compassion
Family Wellness
Crisis Awareness
Retirement
Spouse/Family Support Group
“After the Call”
Wellness for Leaders
Suicide Awareness
Trauma Informed Resiliency
Workplace Safety
Burnout & Compassion
Fatigue
Self Care Methods
Dispatcher – Stress Management
Workplace Life Balance
QPR: Questions, Persuade, Refer
Anxiety and Trauma
In addition to informational and training sessions, the Smith Center will facilitate the sharing of resources in important wellness related functions that smaller agencies may lack. By pooling these functions, First Responders may also seek contacts outside of their agencies based upon established working relationships, reputation of the resource, or a desire for confidentiality. Some of these functions or programs include:
Peer Support Contacts
Chaplain Program
Area Business Support
Access to Wellness App
Financial Advisors
Outreach to Academies
The Smith Center will not conflict or compete with but work to facilitate existing wellness programs that are established in our area. The Smith Center may be used as a facility to further support these services. Some examples of these programs include Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) teams and Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training.
Clarence R. “Sonny” Smith Jr.
1928 – 2021
The Mahoning Valley First Responder Wellness Center is named after Clarence R. Smith Jr. who was well known for his generosity in the community and his help for First Responders in need.
Clarence R. ‘Sonny” Smith Jr. was a lifetime Boardman resident. Born and raised in Boardman Township, he graduated from Boardman High School and then went on to attend Kenyon College. After his father, Clarence R. Smith Sr., suffered a stroke Sonny was called home to take over the management of Diamond Steel Construction, which was founded in 1928. In 1952, “Sonny” and his father founded Compco Metal Products and in 1962 they opened Adamas Lapidary and Gem Shop that was located at the intersection of Market Street and McClurg Road.
Sonny passed away on April 13, 2021 at the age of 92. At the time of his death, he was chairman of Compco Industries. During his lifetime, Sonny Smith supported many civic causes. He was a frequent contributor to the Boardman Police Department, and in fact, donated the land where the Boardman Police Department and Boardman Administration offices are currently located. Mr. Smith would often remark that he loved three things---God, family, and the people who keep our community safe. He supported a wide range of community projects, including the auditorium at Boardman High School, the D.D. and Velma Davis Family YMCA in Boardman, and Boardman Community Baseball’s Fields of Dreams. Mr. Smith was known to quietly help those in need throughout the community and had a genuine love for the people who served as First Responders in our area.
The Smith property where the Wellness Center is located has a storied history. At the turn of the 20th century, a 55-acre site in Boardman Township (what is now bounded by Market Street, Washington Boulevard, Southern Boulevard and McClurg Road) was home to the Southern Park Racetrack, where harness racing attracted upwards of 15,000 people for races. In the 1920’s the property was purchased by Clarence R. Smith Sr. and later given to his son Clarence R. Smith, Jr. and his fiancé, Rosemarie Poschner, upon their marriage. Clarence and Rosemarie lived on the property and raised their twin daughters, Gwen and Gail; as well as two sons, Clarence Smith III and Greg Smith, in the home on Raupp Avenue. In 2007 Mr. and Mrs. Smith moved to Lake Tomahawk in Columbiana County and the property was obtained by Boardman Township in 2013.
In 1950 Mr. and Mrs. Smith returned from their honeymoon in California with several small Redwood tree saplings, several of which he planted on the family property on Raupp Avenue. Two of the Redwood trees, remain there today and are continuing to thrive. The Smith Wellness Center has adopted the Redwood tree as part of the logo because of the unique presence on the property and the fact they represent strength, growth, stature, and most importantly resiliency which are attributes of our First Responders who serve our community.