Boots on Pedals Cycling fundraiser for First Responders counselling

Jeff Green | Sep 08, 2021

Constable Richard Martin is working a day job these days, in a climate controlled office. In June he started a three year rotation as the Community Service and Media Relations Officer with the Frontenac detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police. (OPP)

But throughout his career with the OPP, he has been on the road, working rotating day and night shifts, in the summer heat and the winter cold alike. Many of those shifts were spent patrolling the 401 Highway as a member of the Frontenac detachment.

One of those shifts stood out from the rest. It was a winter night in 2016, during a snowstorm with low visibility that a truck struck Constable Martin's police car.

He was not physically injured but as time passed he realised he had developed PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and needed to seek help.

Two of the insights that he gained through his treatment led him to where he is this week.

One was that getting out cycling, on his own, was an important part of his recovery process from PTSD, and the other was that the counselling he had received was lacking in one respect, they were not designed for his specific circumstances as a first responder.

“PTSD can affect anyone, but for first responders, dealing with trauma is literally a part of the job,” he said. “I did not know that Boots on the Ground existed when I was looking for help.”

Boots on the Ground is an anonymous, Ontario-based help line for first responders, staffed not by professional therapists but by other first responders. It is dedicated to providing support for firefighters, police officers, paramedics, nurses, corrections officers and emergency dispatch operators.

In addition to a help-line, Boots on the Ground also helps First-Responders find counselling resources and community support where they live.

This week, Constable Martin is taking some vacation time to go on a cycling trip, a fundraising cycling trip, Boots on Pedals. He started last Saturday (September 4) from the Hartington detachment, and will be visiting detachments in an easterly direction along highway 2, before heading north and west to end up in Renfrew this coming Saturday (September 11). It's an 835 kilometre cycle, and he is being joined along the way by police officers and others.

“Anyone can join in by cycling from one OPP detachment to another,” he said from his office on June 3rd, the day before the ride began.

A video that features his story can be accessed on Facebook, by using #bootsonpedals. The short powerful video talks about how physical exercise, in his case cycling, is a powerful tool to deal with mental health issues. It also talks directly to first responders about seeking support for when “something doesn't feel right.”

For further information, visit Bootsontheground.ca