After The Call: Got Your Six Campaign

What if helping a first responder was as simple as giving up one coffee a month?

In this episode, we're introducing the After Watch Foundation's Got Your 6 Campaign.

For just $6 a month, you can help provide confidential peer support, therapy resources, family support, crisis response assistance, training, and other critical services for active and retired first responders and their families.

The reality is that many of the men and women who spend their lives showing up for others often struggle to find support when they need it most.

That's why we created Got Your 6.

No large donation required.
No complicated commitment.
Just ordinary people making an extraordinary impact together.

Listen to this episode to learn why this movement matters, where the funds go, and how you can stand behind those who stand on the front lines every day.

Because nobody should carry the weight alone.

🎙️ Listen now.
🚔 Join the SIX Squad. 
💙 Give $6. Change a life.

Donate Here:

https://givebutter.com/after-watch-foundation-got-your-6-eszbkw

#GotYour6 #AfterWatchFoundation #FirstResponderWellness #MentalHealthMatters #SupportTheSupporters #FirstResponders #AfterTheCall

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to After the Call, the podcast dedicated to the stories and struggles behind the batch, the turnout gear, and the uniform. Each week we'll bring you a powerful conversation with first responders, mental health professionals, and advocates who are breaking the stigma during their journeys and offering real solutions. We'll talk about PTSD resilience, family impact, and the resources that can make a difference. Because the job doesn't just leave scars on the body, it affects the mind, the heart, and the people who serve alongside it. And no one should have to carry that burden on. This is after the call, or you'll find strength to be resilient.

SPEAKER_01 0:38

Alright, we are back. We're just going to do a quick little check-in on what we're doing.

SPEAKER_02 0:44

Alright, what are we doing?

SPEAKER_01 0:46

So if you guys haven't noticed, uh we've been doing the Got Your Six campaign. Um it's a donation, a recurring donation of $6. And what that $6 does is one, it gets you a sticker with our logo, some graphics, whatever. Um, and you can get it in the color of the field that you're in. So if you're a hose dragger, you can get hose drag or red. If you're a cool cop, you can get cool cop blue.

SPEAKER_03 1:14

Uh brand these colors. I love it.

SPEAKER_01 1:18

If you're uh a dispatcher, you get pissed yellow.

SPEAKER_03 1:24

I would love piss yellow.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

Yeah, they're like, hey, uh, I'm I'm looking for my piss yellow sticker. No, no, no. Uh is it gold? Oh, yeah, it's gold. It is gold, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:35

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

Right, it's not yellow.

SPEAKER_03 1:36

I like piss yellow.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

We're we're we're we're rebranding this. Um then gray for corrections, and then white for civilian sector.

SPEAKER_02 1:48

Why is I thought it was EMS. Oh, EMS. EMS.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

Yes. Oh, okay. Or or you can get a multicolored one. Yes, you can represent everybody at once. Supporting first responders.

SPEAKER_03 2:00

All everybody at once.

SPEAKER_01 2:02

So serious, all seriousness aside, what the $6 goes for is literally paying for treatment for first responders that either can't afford something, the insurance is not covering it, or they're trying to do things kind of out of the light of the job because no paper trail. So doing things that could benefit them, but they're just sick and tired of the department holding things over their head, which totally understand because I was there, right? Well, I think we all were. At some point, you're like, shit, I don't want um, you know, this being held against me or right.

SPEAKER_02 2:40

And they're making it. I mean, you know, we have tiger and stuff, but there's there are some departments are going back to making it more difficult um with that paper trail. So you get the services, but you have to complete a whole bunch of paperwork um yourself. Now pass it on to your supervisor who then goes to their supervisor and it goes on and on and on to all these different people. So now everyone in the department knows that you are requesting to use um your benefits through the Tiger Act.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

So with that debauchery of stuff, what how long does that even take now? Because before it would literally be like, hey, I just need a DR number, a GO number, whatever, and then I'm on it.

SPEAKER_02 3:21

Yeah. Um, I don't know the time frame that it takes. I know that um sp in particularly with Phoenix, um, that's the their process now. And so um I don't know that I wouldn't say there's like an approval. I think they just have to verify that you were a part of whatever incident you're alleging that is causing the problem.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

That's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 3:45

Yeah. So, you know, before I think it was like your therapist could just do a thing saying like, hey, um, whatever, and now you have to complete the paperwork and you see all the names that have to, you know, all the uh the chain of command and all the EAP, like everybody that has to review it.

SPEAKER_01 4:04

So not only is it stressful enough having to go through it, but now you have the stress of the moral injury of people knowing or b the possible betrayal issue of everybody knowing your business. Right. And I and I get all right, I get we're in a profession where honesty and stuff is is definitely in there, but you still have a right to privacy. Right. Or you should. So yeah, okay, so um we have different methods of doing those deposits, right? Um but also we want to include businesses, right? So businesses obviously have a better opportunity to offer a little bit more because they get a bigger tax break and all sort of stuff.

SPEAKER_02 4:52

Start start first. What what is got your six about?

SPEAKER_01 4:56

You tell me.

SPEAKER_02 4:58

I have Tory six. I don't know if I've got Mace's six.

SPEAKER_04 5:01

You have piss yellow six?

SPEAKER_02 5:03

I love piss yellow six. No, I mean, obviously, right, we've heard it, I don't know how long I've known the term, but it's something you learn fairly quickly once you're within these agencies.

SPEAKER_01 5:16

Yeah, it's been it's I think it started with whatever. I mean, uh God knows how long ago.

SPEAKER_02 5:21

Right. So But I mean, but I don't think there's a lot of people who don't have a clue what it is because they're not a part of these cultures.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

Okay. So do we need together?

SPEAKER_03 5:33

We should.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

From a marketing standpoint, we could six or got your six or back or whatever. I mean, that's literally us talking about we have we support you, right? We want to be there for when you're falling down, or whatever that might be, whether it's emotionally, physically, um, whatever, we want to be able to support you in any way, shape, or form, right?

unknown 6:02

Right.

SPEAKER_02 6:02

Yeah. I mean, I think out in like on the street and whatnot, a lot of times the term is used more for a tactical situation. Um, I think we're trying to bring to light that our culture needs to realize that we aren't just fighting enemies on the outside, that we have to handle the things on our on our emotional and mental level and within our agencies and our squads and things to better serve them as a whole.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

Yeah, I mean, if if you're the and I'm just gonna use cop terms on this, right? So if you're the cop that gets into a shooting or you you get injured during a shooting, right? Like that's that's your notoriety right there, right? Like everybody thinks you're the best fucking thing ever, right? But if you go out on an injury dealing with an emotional state, people look at you as the cancer and they will avoid you like the plague, right? And those are the people that we want to help.

SPEAKER_04 7:07

Right.

SPEAKER_01 7:07

Uh obviously both, because I don't think people fully understand too after you get into a shooting, or like if you were involved in a shooting and you come back to work, like there's a lot of emotional baggage that comes with that. Right. Right? Um, so yeah, we want to support you in every way, shape, or form. Um the the biggest thing is it's okay to not be okay. And we need to like you talk about this a lot in our behind the scenes stuff, is making everything okay that shouldn't that people say is not okay. Like making it more normalized.

SPEAKER_03 7:43

We should just talk about it. Yeah. Yeah, because I had brought up the other day for anybody listening, I do copywriting. I write copywright. Um, and I work with people that are um in the same space, in the healing space, and work in mental health. And whenever I um just bring up specifics of like, hey, are you feeling withdrawn from your family? Like, do you want to go hide in your office? Do you want to sleep all the time? They're like, we cannot say that stuff out loud. We can't, we can't let them know, like, that that's not that's not an okay feeling. And I'm like, that's so bizarre. Because so if we normalize saying, hey, Patrick, you like to withdraw from your family, you don't really like to talk to your family, me neither. That's that makes it okay for somebody else to speak up and be like, I don't feel like I I feel the same way, you know what I mean? So I think we should absolutely normalize it and talk about it. People need to know that this is a normal feeling. We're not made to see traumatic things multiple times a day, four to five days a week. Our bodies can't do that.

SPEAKER_02 8:49

And it's the irony in that we normalize the abnormal all the time. And then the things that are totally normal were like, oh no, nothing. Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_01 9:00

No, yeah, it's it's it's becoming more common than not to just avoid the conversation. And being more direct is it's a lot easier, and you can probably get to the point a lot faster if you're just like, hey, so you want to whatever, you know, hurt yourself or like are you are you a suicide? Are you suicidal? Whatever the whatever the term you want to say, but it's just like saying it directly, one, is going to hopefully get that other person to kind of think about what they're what they're feeling and maybe have that oh shit moment. But two, also okay, they they see I'm not doing good, so maybe I am not doing good.

SPEAKER_03 9:46

Yeah, just be direct.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

All right.

SPEAKER_03 9:48

It helps. It helps a lot of people feel seen and heard and maybe they don't even know that they feel that way.

SPEAKER_02 9:56

Oh, I think a lot of times a lot of the fe the behaviors that others can see, like when you start to withdraw, or that you're short about everything, or or you're just super silent at home, or whatever. A lot of times as that person, you don't even recognize that's happening. You think, well, I'm not flipping out, so I'm good. Yeah, nobody can see that I'm freaking out on the inside because I'm not freaking out on the outside, and so far from true.

SPEAKER_03 10:24

Or you just think you're like everybody is annoying, everybody is stupid, and it's like that's not the case, actually. But you don't realize that, you don't have that like self-reflection of hey, maybe I'm not feeling good, and I'm seeing these people in a different light.

SPEAKER_01 10:40

Yeah, we seem to project a lot of what we're feeling into other people.

SPEAKER_03 10:43

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 10:44

No, it's a good point. Um so how long are we doing this for?

SPEAKER_02 10:49

Forever. The Gotcha 6 is a forever thing now. Okay, yeah, it is a forever thing.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

You didn't you didn't tell me about this.

SPEAKER_02 10:56

It was awkward.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

No, just kidding. No, I think it is too, because uh, well, one, the first responder world is not going away. Right. Um, and the support for the first responders are isn't going away. So it's just another way of how we can continue a mission, a campaign to support as many people as we can when they don't feel supported.

SPEAKER_02 11:18

Right. Yeah. So, anyways, uh since I interrupted you, go back to your corporate sponsors.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

No, um so I w I wanted to point out, you know, uh for for businesses and stuff like that to that do support first responders, this is a great opportunity for you to have a a tax write-off. I mean, it's it's it you're you know, you're helping a a nonprofit of 501c3 um in multiple ways. I mean that's six bucks goes a lot of go will go a long way, but we don't realize like I just paid six bucks for this stupid drink.

SPEAKER_03 11:53

You did. It's all stupid. It's liquid motivation.

unknown 11:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 12:00

It gives me a will to live, you know. All right.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

Should we change our campaign?

SPEAKER_03 12:06

To coffee?

SPEAKER_01 12:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:08

One less coffee. One less day with will to live.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

Um yeah, I always see that like people say, like, just get rid of caffeine. Like, do you want me to murder you? Like, I will destroy you.

SPEAKER_03 12:21

Imagine this world without caffeine.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

Yeah, I can.

SPEAKER_03 12:26

Population control. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:28

You want to you want to regulate shit. There you go. Um, no, so got your six. It's very important to us. We are doing it nationwide. We want it to be spread like wildfire. Um, because we know, I mean, obviously we're based in Arizona, but we want to reach out to as many people as we can.

SPEAKER_02 12:48

Right. Yeah, we've got lots of connections across the country. So um you know, if you're somewhere else, we can definitely look into our connections and see what we can get you out of there.

SPEAKER_01 12:59

And from what I heard from a lot of other states is that we actually do have a fairly good first responder wellness program here compared to compared to other states. If we can, you know, if we can either bring people here for services or whatever, let's do it.

SPEAKER_03 13:18

For six dollars a month.

SPEAKER_01 13:20

For your bullshit caffeine. Your piss yellow caffeine. Piss yellow.

SPEAKER_03 13:26

I like tea, okay.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

So the other thing uh we want to throw in there too is as we grow, uh, we're gonna start doing random drawings for so we can give back too. Um I know it's not gonna be a lot, but we can throw a t-shirt at you, some stickers, some patches, whatever. Um, I know Gina's offered um horseback riding. Um Tori's offered computers. No, just kidding.

SPEAKER_03 13:52

Wait, I'm sorry. Britney's listening to this and she's like, we offered what?

SPEAKER_01 13:57

Just kidding. No, um, you know, so we'll we'll keep thinking of different ways to give back to those that are giving to us. Um we're talking to some promoters who want to do events and some some other stuff. So we will have bigger things down the road. Um, but the only way we can get there is with your support.

SPEAKER_03 14:16

Yep. Yeah. No pressure or anything. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:20

It's just a coffee.

SPEAKER_02 14:22

I mean, we we offer a ton of services, right? I mean, we do the peer support stuff. We've got um training we're trying to get into that that also is taxing on people. Um we have uh the equine therapy, um, the peer group, we have Peer Connect app coming soon. Like the $6 a month at the end of the day covers just such a big variety of services that um for all the first responders and their families. And so at the end of the day, it seems like literally right, a cup of coffee, but that impact multiplied by so many people is gonna be huge.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

I agree. Yeah, and we're not we're not a one-stop shop, and that's why with the connections that we've made over our time and with the reach out and all that stuff, like we can get you connected to the right people.

SPEAKER_04 15:19

Right.

SPEAKER_01 15:20

But we won't know what you need until you reach out to us.

unknown 15:24

Right.

SPEAKER_02 15:25

You first, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

So yeah, who do we want the problem first or the money first?

SPEAKER_03 15:32

We want I don't know. Yeah, I don't think it's a good one. Oh, I'm kidding. No, no, I don't want your backwash. Josh would. Where's Josh?

SPEAKER_01 15:45

He's on vacation. What a fucking loser. Yeah, seriously. Mental hill. I miss him.

SPEAKER_03 15:50

Oh, I bet you do. Not surprised.

SPEAKER_01 15:53

I'm gonna do his radio show on Tuesday. Oh I'm gonna try to do mindfulness.

SPEAKER_02 16:00

What? No way! Yikes, yank.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Um, no, I can't do it.

SPEAKER_02 16:09

No, I you get you and Josh are like opposite ends of that spectrum of calm and not.

SPEAKER_03 16:16

He's like, Josh is like so logical. Like, I'll present him with a problem and he like logically thinks through it. Like I'll present you with a problem and you're like, fucking kill him.

SPEAKER_01 16:27

Or fucking serial murderer. No, I mean Yeah, I mean force over hugs. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:37

But hugs naturally firefighters prefer those. Oh yeah. For sure. So fucking all the drivers. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Poor Josh. And I'm back to being a cop. I got rid of the. I know, thank God.

SPEAKER_02 16:51

That was the creepiest thing. Like it felt illegal. I was not.

SPEAKER_03 16:54

It was good for the radio show.

SPEAKER_02 16:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:58

Did you need it for the radio show? Like just so I don't know how to do it. Was it like putting a spoiler in your car and you just go fast?

SPEAKER_01 17:04

I was just gonna say I I had fun saying that I became a firefighter for like those 24 hours.

SPEAKER_02 17:12

You did. You did. Because it was you definitely had firefighter vibes all right.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

Because it started, it started it started within like hour one. I was like, hey, I've been a firefighter for at least an hour now. So it was just fun.

SPEAKER_03 17:22

Oh, that's cute. So for 24 hours you got to be a firefighter.

SPEAKER_01 17:26

Yeah. I didn't get to drive a truck um or put out a fire.

SPEAKER_03 17:30

You had the gayness going for you, though.

SPEAKER_01 17:31

Oh, it was definitely I think Josh and I held hands at least 17 times.

SPEAKER_03 17:38

That's it?

SPEAKER_01 17:40

That's at least, yeah, I mean, almost once an hour. That's pretty good. Pretty good odds.

SPEAKER_03 17:44

I guess.

SPEAKER_01 17:45

I mean I don't know. I don't know where we're going with this.

SPEAKER_03 17:51

I don't either. It's okay. That's usually how these go.

SPEAKER_01 17:54

So yeah, so um please, if you're able to support the cause, please do be a member. Join the Gotcha Six squad, right? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:07

That invite, what's that?

SPEAKER_01 18:08

So yeah, you can be a squad member. Maybe a part of our squad. Yeah. The Gotcha Six Squad.

SPEAKER_03 18:13

You guys like, is that a separate meeting? No, that's what's going on.

SPEAKER_01 18:17

We have we do we do have soon as you submit your six dollar donation. We do have a cool little handshake that you'll learn over time.

SPEAKER_02 18:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 18:24

I I would do that. I just didn't know that was a thing. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:30

So very cool. Yeah. It's exciting. Yeah. That'll be fun. Fun stuff.

SPEAKER_01 18:38

Stop picturing me with my mustache.

SPEAKER_03 18:41

Uh that was No, I'm still, I still got the image of you and Josh holding hands burned in my head.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

So You like it. You you you put on this persona like you don't. It's not seriously. Seriously, like you're at home and you're like, I wish I could see Patrick and Josh.

SPEAKER_03 18:57

Yeah, I like pull up pictures of you guys, actually.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

Intertwine.

SPEAKER_03 19:00

Yeah, and I like zoom in and I'm like, look at their holding hands.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

Okay. All right. Thanks for listening.