MAHOMET, Ill. (WCIA) — Mental health can be a tough topic to approach — that’s especially true for some military and first responders. However, a program out of Mahomet is ensuring that they aren’t only heard, but that they’re talking to someone who truly understands what they’re going through.

“It’s something I’m passionate about because I lived it,” said Fire Chief and EMS worker Chris Humer.

He’s talking about trauma, specifically what members of the military and first responders face.

“Honestly, the hardest part is responding to people that you love and care about, and being there in that moment is an honor, but it’s something I hold near and dear to my heart,” Humer said. “But when those things don’t go well and those events don’t go the way we want them to, it’s extremely difficult.”

And recently, a difficult situation came up: the death of Champaign firefighter Trace Conover.

“It’s hard, and I’ve got several friends I check on regularly,” Humer said. “We just have those communications of ‘Hey, how’s it going, what’s going on.’ They know that myself and several other people are around if they need to talk.”

One of those other people is former Army Special Forces therapist and the co-founder of The Anchor Point Michael Jenkins.

“In reality, trauma is trauma. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been on the force for 20 years or you’ve been here three days. You are going to live through this, you’re going to have to learn how to adjust to it,” Jenkins said. “I think being able to relate to that personally goes a long way, cecause we didn’t talk about this when I was coming up in the military.”

He offers his services to military and first responders for free, with a team of mental health professionals with those backgrounds to connect with.

“A lot of it is they finally found someone they can talk to, who speaks their language,” Jenkins said. “Nothing against other therapists, but this isn’t their forte, it’s not their niche. Just like you would go to the cardiologist for a heart issue, you wouldn’t go to a podiatrist to get your heart fixed.”

But Jenkins biggest message:

“Don’t hesitate,” he said. “I think everybody kind of hits that point where they’ve thought about it, they’ve considered it, wondering ‘Is this the right fit for me?’ Absolutely. The worst thing is you try it and go ‘Oh, maybe it wasn’t the right thing for me.'”

It’s something Humer has seen firsthand.

“Somebody, hopefully for everybody, that is a good fit and they can share those experiences and help people work through it and let people know that as we work through this, that it’ll be okay,” Humer said.

And that’s exactly what The Anchor Point is there for. If you are a first responder, a servicemember or a veteran interested in the group’s services, or if you know someone who is interested, you can visit The Achor Point’s website to start the process of getting help.