Two first responders from the Bow Valley area have come up with an initiative to help other first responders talk about the stress they face day-to-day in their jobs.

Gregg Schaalje says he and Chad Guenter were tired of hearing about another first responder committing suicide. 

Schaalje says they decided they needed to come up with a tactical tool to make it easier for first responders to ask for help and that's when they came up with the idea of the coin.

It's a coin with a maple leaf on one side and a buffalo on the other and it's designed to start tough conversations for first responders.

All you need to do is slide the coin towards another member and a conversation is initiated. The recipient of the coin slide can be an active listener or they can start the conversation if needed. The coin may also be presented to a friend or a family member.

Guenter says "One of the biggest hurdles in getting help is finding the best way to ask for it." 

Schaalje says "It's one of those things where if you're struggling as a first responder to ask for help. We are the ones that are always giving help. We are the ones that are always rushing in to offer help and to give help. So sometimes for us as first responders to say - I need help, is tough."

Guenter says "Having the coin in your pocket is a reminder that you can seek help, that there is support around you and that you don’t need to suffer alone."

Schaalje says they are planning to launch the coin into the USA in 2020. 

He says "The reason why we haven't launched in the US yet is because the company that is partnering with us to launch in the US said that we're going to have such a strain on their shipping department to get the coins into first responders hands that they need to be prepared themselves."

Project All In started in November 2018 and they have already distributed over 8500 coins to first responders in six different countries including Canada. 

You can find more information about Project All In here