CAMPAIGN FOR NEW EMERGENCY RESPONSE RIG

How You Can Help

 

Dear Friends,

 

We have started a much-needed capital campaign to raise funds for a desperately needed new Support 7 Emergency Response Rig.

Our current rig is more than 28 years old and has been used on average 4-6 times per month for all those years. This is more than 2,000 emergency scenes over the life of this class-c motorhome.

Can you imagine if those walls could talk… the care, the grief, the love, the tears, the fear, the protection, the anguish… the hope…

Support 7 has been in operation for more than 40 years. The current rig we have is the second generation, we are now desperately in need of the third generation Emergency Response Rig.

In that time, we have helped thousands of people manage unthinkable situations. Our First Responder Chaplains are dispatched to respond to emergencies on average of 33-35 times per month (in their personal vehicles) to provide personal care on the scene of a crisis, and our Incident Response Team and Emergency Response Rig are dispatched 4-6 times a month to bring this fully-stocked motorhome to the scene of an incident, such as a house/apartment or commercial fire, SWAT callout, or drowning on the Puget Sound, for example, to immediately provide a safe, private place to get out of the elements and away from the media or onlookers.  This is an essential tool in our crisis intervention toolbox, and it needs to be replaced for safety, reliability, and sustainability ASAP.

Support 7 directly and practically partners with South Snohomish County first responder agencies. We come alongside people in need at the moment of crisis, on-scene, helping victims, survivors and their families move from trauma to hope and healing.

We are a team of highly trained and vetted compassionate volunteers—including First Responder Chaplains and Incident Response Team volunteers who work alongside our first responders on-scene. Our team has responded in crisis situations such as work or vehicle-related fatalities, natural unexpected deaths, death by suicide, homicide, fires, water rescues, incidents of crime and violence, missing persons cases, and more. In these crisis situations, first responders focus on the highest priority needs such as providing life-saving emergency medical care. However, these crises often cause ripple effects and deep trauma for those involved. Support 7 arrives on the scene to lessen this trauma by working alongside first responders to support the whole person.

In The Support 7 Emergency Response Rig we meet a range of needs, including:

• Basic needs for food, water, clothing, warmth, and shelter from the elements with our unique Emergency Response Rig, which also includes a bathroom.

 

• Social emotional needs for encouragement, moral support, explanations of next steps, and mental health interventions.

 

• Children’s needs on-scene for companionship, distraction, supervision, explanations, snacks, diapers, toys, blankets, and emotional support.

 

• Logistical needs such as a cell phone or charger, someone to go home and let their pet out, or support coordinating funeral arrangements.

 

• First responders’ needs for food, water, moral support, and Peer Support help processing shock and trauma.