First Response Peer Support Network

09/13/2026

There’s a reason you’re seeing Maryellen Smith on our page this month. ❤️

Throughout September, Maryellen is donating proceeds from her music to support FRPSN and the first responder community.

We’re grateful to have her standing with us and supporting the work we do.

— FRPSN Team

09/13/2026

What’s something you love doing that has absolutely nothing to do with the job?

Fishing? Woodworking? Gardening? Photography? Cooking? Working on something in the garage?

We spend a lot of time talking about what first responders do. Today we want to know a little about who you are when you’re off the clock.

— FRPSN Team

09/12/2026

Take a minute and listen to Maryellen Smith Music and help support two great causes!

💜🩵 DAY 12 — YOU DON’T HAVE TO EARN THE RIGHT TO ASK FOR HELP 🩵💜

After yesterday’s remembrance, today I want to come back to something that is at the heart of Su***de Prevention Awareness Month:

You don’t have to wait until you’re in crisis to ask for help.

Too often, especially among first responders, we convince ourselves that someone else has it worse.

“It wasn’t that bad.”
“Other people have seen worse.”
“I should be able to handle this.”
“I just need to push through.”

But pain isn’t a competition.

You don’t have to prove that what you’re carrying is heavy enough before you’re allowed to put some of it down.

First responders spend their careers answering other people’s calls for help. We show up on someone’s worst day, step into the chaos, and do whatever we can to make things better.

But when we’re the ones struggling, asking for help can suddenly feel like the hardest call to make.

It shouldn’t.

💜 Talk to your partner.
🩵 Talk to someone on your crew.
💜 Reach out to family or a friend.
🩵 Use peer support or professional resources.

And sometimes, be the person who reaches out first.

Ask someone:

“How are you really doing?”

Then give them the time and space to answer.

You don’t need the perfect words. You don’t have to fix everything. Sometimes simply making sure someone knows they aren’t alone can matter more than you realize.

🎵 TODAY’S MUSIC CHOICE: “The Greatest Catch” — Maryellen Smith

Today’s song takes us in a slightly different direction. “The Greatest Catch” is about finding love, family, and a place where you belong.

Because su***de prevention isn’t only about recognizing a crisis. It’s also about connection.

Sometimes the things that carry us through our hardest chapters are the people beside us—the ones who remind us that we matter, that we belong, and that we don’t have to do life alone.

If someone in your life is struggling, remind them that they have a place in your story.

And if you’re struggling, please give someone the opportunity to be there for you.

Reach out. Call for backup. Let someone in. 💜🩵

🎧 You can find “The Greatest Catch” and my other music on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, YouTube, iTunes and more—just search Maryellen Smith.

Throughout September, I’m continuing to wear purple and teal for su***de prevention awareness. Proceeds I receive from sales and streams of my released music throughout the month are being donated to First Response Peer Support Network of North Carolina, helping support first responders navigating trauma, stress, and difficult situations.

📱 If you’re struggling or experiencing a suicidal crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Su***de & Crisis Lifeline.

🚨 If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911 or seek emergency care.

Today’s reminder:

You don’t have to hit rock bottom before you reach for a hand.

You don’t have to carry everything by yourself.

And asking for backup doesn’t make you less capable.

Sometimes asking for backup is exactly what keeps you in the fight. 💜🩵

***dePreventionAwarenessMonth

09/12/2026

Every station had one person you absolutely did NOT send to the grocery store. 😂
Who was the worst shopper at your station?
Came back with the wrong stuff? Forgot half the list? Bought enough snacks for a kindergarten class and nothing for dinner?

Names optional. Stories encouraged. 😂

— FRPSN Team

09/11/2026

Today we remember.

We remember the lives lost on September 11, 2001. We remember the first responders who ran toward what everyone else was running from. And we remember those whose lives, health, families, and careers were forever changed by that day.

Some dates never become ordinary.

We will never forget.

— FRPSN Team

09/10/2026

🚨 This one is straight out of the first responder world.

“Love’s Second Alarm” by Maryellen Smith is about a couple who both serve as first responders — the calls, the shifts, the worry, the sacrifice, and loving someone who understands exactly what answering the alarm means.

This September, Maryellen is donating proceeds from her music to FRPSN.

So give this one a listen — stream it, download it, add it to your playlist, or purchase it. Every listen helps support peer support for first responders and their families. ❤️

🎶 Love’s Second Alarm — Track #6 on Chronicles of Life

https://music.amazon.com/albums/B0G1786HRH

Thank you, Maryellen, for telling stories from our world and supporting the people who live it.

— FRPSN Team

On Amazon Music

09/10/2026

You don’t have to be at the breaking point before you’re allowed to say, “I’m not okay.”

First responders are very good at showing up for everybody else. Sometimes we’re not nearly as good at admitting when we need somebody to show up for us.
On World Su***de Prevention Day, remember this: reaching out early still counts. Talking before it becomes a crisis still counts. Checking on somebody because something just feels off still counts.
If you’re a first responder or family member who needs someone who understands the job, FRPSN is here.

833.377.7648 | FRPSN.ORG

— FRPSN Team

Confidential peer support, training, critical incident support, and trusted resources for first responders and their families across North Carolina and beyond.

09/09/2026

Wellness Wednesday

Not every reset has to be deep.
Sometimes it’s a drive with the radio up. A workout. Sitting by the water. Cutting the grass. Coffee somewhere quiet. Twenty minutes where nobody needs anything from you.

What helps you reset?

— FRPSN Team

09/08/2026

Please take a minute to listen to Maryellen Smith Music and help support two great causes.

💜🩵 SEPTEMBER 8 — JUST STAY 🩵💜

Day 8 of Su***de Prevention Awareness Month.

Today’s message is just one word:

STAY.

Stay through this moment.

Stay through this hour.

Stay through this night.

Stay even if right now you can’t imagine things getting better.

You don’t have to figure out the rest of your life today. Sometimes the only thing you need to do is make it through this moment and allow someone to stand beside you while you do.

🎶 Today I’m pairing my message with my song “Stay.”

There are times when someone doesn’t need advice, judgment, or a list of reasons why they should feel differently.

Sometimes they simply need another person to say:

“I’m here.”
“I’ll listen.”
“You don’t have to face this alone.”
“Please stay.”

To my first responder family—🚒🚑🚓📞—you spend your careers walking into other people’s darkest moments.

You know how to take control of a scene.

You know how to help someone else survive.

But when the emergency is happening inside you, asking for help can feel much harder.

Please make the call.

Call your partner. Call your friend. Call your peer support team. Tell somebody you’re not okay.

You are worth responding to, too.

And for the rest of us: check on your people. If you’re worried about someone, don’t assume somebody else will do it.

Send the text.

Make the call.

Knock on the door.

Be there.

📱 If you are struggling or experiencing a suicidal crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Su***de & Crisis Lifeline.

🚨 If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911 or seek emergency care.

🎶 Throughout September, proceeds I receive from sales and streams of my albums will be donated to the First Response Peer Support Network of North Carolina, supporting first responders through trauma, stress, and difficult situations.

Find “Stay” and the rest of my music on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, Pandora, YouTube, iTunes, and more.

🔎 Search Maryellen Smith and hit play. 🎵

And if today is one of those days when everything feels like too much, you don’t need to promise forever.

Just stay today.

Tomorrow, we’ll ask you to stay again. 💜🩵

You are not alone.
You matter.
Your story still matters.

***dePreventionAwarenessMonth ***dePrevention

09/08/2026

What’s something somebody taught you early in your career that had absolutely nothing to do with a textbook?
Could’ve been about the job. Could’ve been about people. Could’ve just been how to survive a long shift without losing your mind. 😂

— FRPSN Team