Campaign Watch: Because Heroes Are Human – The Tema Conter Memorial Trust
Written by admin2 on March 20th, 2009Filed under: Campaign Watch, Irked Videos
“This is my way of doing something for Tema. Although I was unable to help her in any way, this award will ensure her memory lives on.” —Vince Savoia
Excerpted from Tema.ca:
The first people to arrive on the scene, emergency services personnel witness traumatic events with every shift. Yet they continue to perform their essential duty of saving lives—often in the face of unspeakable tragedy. So unspeakable, in fact, that many of these heroic individuals struggle quietly with the physical, psychological and emotional effects of their jobs. The Tema Conter Memorial Trust was established to end the silence and ease the suffering. The charity was founded by Mr. Vince Savoia, an attending paramedic at the murder scene of Ms. Tema Conter in 1988. Upon coping with post-traumatic stress as a result of this horrible episode, Mr. Savoia created the Tema Conter Memorial Trust.
If you haven’t yet seen the Tema Conter Memorial Trust’s award-winning Public Service Announcement, you really must watch it. Featuring actor and real-life paramedic Marten Holdenreid, the PSA (titled “Hands”) has generated significant awareness about the Tema Conter Memorial Trust and the haunting effects of post-traumatic stress. Conceived, written and art directed by Impact Communications, and produced by Toronto’s Geneva Film Company, the TV spot received a Platinum REMI Award at the 39th Annual WorldFest Film and Video Festival.
Watch the PSA in English and French:
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“We help those who spend their lives helping you.”
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6 excerpts from former paramedic Hal Newman’s galvanizing essay “Because Heroes Are Human” (courtesy Big Medicine):
First passage:
Vince Savoia is one of my heroes. Not for the work he did as a paramedic although I am certain there were heroic moments in those days. It is the work he has done since responding to Tema Conter’s murder in 1988 that strikes me as filled with sacrifice, dedication, passion and a real sense of purpose. After coping with post-traumatic stress as a result of responding to the call, Vince established the Tema Conter Memorial Trust to honour the memory of Tema and to call attention to the acute trauma encountered by emergency services workers.
Second passage:
Tema Lisa Conter was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was the daughter of the late Dr. Ralph Conter and Deborah Conter, and a sister to Howard and Arlene. Tema was full of life and happiness, and lived life to the fullest. Throughout her school years, university and career she was known to her many friends for her humour, wit and charm and always as the life of the party. Her special personality connected her with people of all ages; once that connection was made they were forever her “buddy”.
Third passage:
On January 27, 1988 at the age of 25, Tema was murdered by a convicted serial killer who had spent most of his adolescent and adult life in jail. In a fatal error of the justice system, this man, who had been placed in a half way house, in a mid-town Toronto neighborhood, entered her apartment building early that morning and attacked Tema while on her way to work. Her brutal and senseless murder, a nightmare beyond belief, was reported in detail in all of the papers.
Fourth passage:
Someone asked me if I had ever been affected by PTSD and I replied, “Does waking up in bed, sitting and screaming aloud—every night for three weeks—count?”
Fifth passage:
Vince and I talked yesterday about how it ought to be required to provide every single emergency services worker—volunteer or career—with a solid awareness-framed education about the elements of stress management….The days for stoic never-shed-a-tear superheroes are done.
Sixth passage:
Recognizing that early education is very important, each year the charity grants The Tema Conter Memorial Trust Scholarship Award, an annual scholarship available to all emergency services students (to include EMS, Fire, Police, and Emergency Communications students). The $2,500.00 scholarship is awarded to the student who best discusses, in an essay or journal, the psychological stressors of Critical Incident Stress and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and their effects on the personal and professional lives of emergency service personnel. The Tema Conter Memorial Trust has published a $5 booklet on Stress Management for Emergency Personnel. The booklet identifies signals of distress and provides guidance on learning how to cope. It’s five bucks that will be well spent.
Click to purchase (page will open in new window)
A Tema.ca screenshot announcing the upcoming Halifax Gala on May 14, 2009:
