In this Beyond the 1st Response episode, Christy and Ciara had the pleasure to speak to Vance Row, a retired police officer who is now a dispatcher and yoga instructor.
Physical & Mental Injuries
Vance told us his story of his years in policing, injuries on the job, and how he used alcohol to cope. He went through his lowest points and how he contemplated taking his life. His wife was the one to speak up and show him what he was doing. Vanc told us how when remembers in his academy
they briefly spoke about police suicide and then it became real to him as a close friend and co-worker took their life. Vance is now retired from policing, but he still serves his community as a dispatcher.
The Positives from the Negative
It was then that Vance turned to yoga and sobriety. Vance started on a Yoga journey to help his mental health and body ailments and then realized how impactful it can be. He then got his certification for being a yoga instructor and now teaches classes all around the Ocean City Area, you can find some of his short videos on YouTube! He talks about the challenges he faced when he was first starting and the challenges when introducing yoga to first responders, but how often someone tells him that the yoga classes helped.
Vance also serves his first responder community by being a part of First responder Recovery meetings. These meetings are for all first responders and are completely confidential. He knew the need for help in recovery and seized that opportunity to continue helping his fellow responders. He also volunteers for COPLINE and spoke about the amazing program for our police officers needing help.
COPLINE 1-800-267-5463
The two most important days are the day you are born and the day that you find out why. – Mark Twain
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