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Our Story

Our Mission

ERAP is dedicated to providing emotional support to emergency  responders who experienced psychological trauma following critical incidents.

Our Vision

ERAP recognizes that critical incidents may lead to significant stress which potentially manifest itself in deteriorating job performance, family breakdowns, chemical dependency, and suicides. ERAP is committed to serving emergency responders who are in crisis as a result of experiencing a critical incident. ERAP underwrites training, education, and psychological assistance in a structured, intensive, three-day seminar environment (Emergency Responders Critical Incident Seminar, ERCIS).  ERAP’s holistic approach acknowledges the importance of family in the post-critical incident healing process. Peer support is a vital component of the seminar.

Our Story

How We Got Started

Muhammad Ali said it best: “service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”

Simple words but deep in meaning to Shari and I. To us, service embodies one’s passion through action to create a positive impact on someone else’s life. We have been blessed to have the opportunity to touch the lives of many over the years. Our involvement in moving the Payson Rodeo Grounds, building the first artificial turf multipurpose field in Arizona, and initiating the “Concert Under the Stars” series led us to receive the “Outstanding Citizen’s Award” and “Citizen of the Year” from the town of Payson, Arizona.  We were also named “Volunteer of the Year” for the State of Arizona.

 Our combined seventy-five years in banking, experiencing robbery after robbery, anthrax scares, being shot at, increased our awareness of the vital role of emergency responders in protecting us. We witnessed first-hand the work of dedicated police officers, FBI agents, fire personnel, and hazmat teams going into harm’s way. In 2013, I made a promise to FBI agent Douglas Samuels: “I do not know how I will repay all of you for what you do for us, but I will figure it out!” I became painfully aware of the pain and anguish that were tearing some of them apart from the inside after being involved in terrible critical incidents.

In 2013, I began to realize my promise. Shari and I learned about a program called post-critical incident seminars (PCIS) in South Carolina. We traveled there and also to North Carolina to attend these seminars. There we heard about Dr. Kathy Thomas, a psychiatrist from Oklahoma with unique expertise in mental trauma to emergency responders. After meeting Dr. Thomas, we established our first nonprofit organization, Oklahoma Law Enforcement Assistance Program (OKLEAP). In 2014, we expanded the scope of psychological assistance to traumatized emergency responders by creating an Emergency Responders Assistance Program (ERAP). We conducted our first PCIS in 2015, and since then conducted 13 seminars, serving 306 emergency responders and significant others from all over the nation. In 2018, we expanded ERAP from Oklahoma to Arizona, changing the organization’s name to National ERAP. We updated the format of our seminars and renamed them Emergency Responders Critical Incident Seminars (ERCIS).

I was once told that “The healing cannot begin until all that are involved in a critical incident had a chance to heal together.” Our dream to assist those who protect us came true by creating a nonprofit in which citizens and emergency responders work together to provide mental support by peers and mental health workers to traumatized emergency responders.

OUR TEAM

Eli Reshef MD

National Emergency Responders Assistance Program Board Chairman

Douglas White

Executive Director

Read Bio

Marcia Johnson

Assistant Executive Director

 

Dr. Robbie Adler-Tapia

National Clinical Director

Jim Warriner 

Director of Peer Mentor Development

Moose

Therapy Dog

National

Francis Tesmer

National Board Chairman

Wes Dison

National Secretary – Interim Director Of Emergency Mgmt. Coconino Co. Az.

Dr. Eli Reshef

President

Jason Larter

National Treasure – Deputy Chief, Oro Valley PD

Geoff Leggett

Retired Assistant Chief, Surprise Az. PD

Board Members

Dr. Evan Reshef

Fellow, Reproductive Medicine, Columbia University

Consultants

LEGAL

Kyle Sweet

President

Founder of Sweet Law Firm, Co-Founder of CCW Safe

Jeri Holmes

Founder

Legal Counsel – Nonprofit Solutions

CPA & ACCOUNTANTS

CPA FIRM

Wedel Rahill & Associates, CPA’s PLC

Shaniee Green

Accountant

Mental Health Clinicians

Dr. Robbie Adler-Tapia

Clinical Director, National ERAP

Lindsay McCall Long

Peer Mentor

Dawn Roy

Licensed counselor for emergency responders.

Carla Urbanas, M.S., LPCC-S, LICDC-CS, CTTS, EMT-P

Mental Health Professional

Vicky Hampton

LADC, LPC

Deborah Silveria Ph.D, LMFT, PSY

Mental Health Professional

Dr. Denise Preuss

Clinical Team

DIRECTOR & COUNCIL

Douglas White

Founder & Executive Director

Shari White

Founder

COMMITTEES

TECHNOLOGY

Kelly Bigelow

Software Developer

Justin Everett

Tech Consultant

PROGRAM

Shari White

Dr. Robbie Adler-Tapia

Dr. Denise Preuss

Geoff Leggett

John France

Doug White

Heather Beckwith

MARKETING

Dr. Eli Reshef

Francis Tesmer

Kelly Bigelow

Shari White

Doug White

GOVERNANCE

Pending

FUNDRAISING: CORPORATIONS AND HIGH VALUE

Dr. Eli Reshef

Francis Tesmer

Doug White

Grant Writers

Board members of National and Oklahoma ERAP

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

Geoff Leggett

Dr. Eli Reshef

Francis Tesmer

Jason Lartner

Wes Dison

Dr. Evan Reshef

Save One Life, One Family, One Career - And We Will Be Successful.

Served

Seminars

Funds raised

We have served over 300 Emergency Responders, spouses, and significant others from across the United States and 88 different agencies. 

Fire, Law Enforcement, 911, EMT, and Medical Examiners. Beginning October 2020, we will begin providing our services to our Emergency Medical Heroes who have been battling the COVID pandemic.

Since 2015, ERAP has raised over $409,000 and funded 13 Emergency Responder Critical Incident Seminars in Oklahoma and Arizona. Although held in Oklahoma and Edmond, we have served Emergency Responders from Oklahoma, Arizona, Washington St. Idaho, California, New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Colorado, Arkansas, Connecticut, and Alaska.

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