Local News

Flipping 250-pound tires raises nearly $2,000 for first responders' mental health

A tire-flipping event was a fundraiser benefiting North Carolina Peer Support, a nonprofit that helps local first responders suffering from mental illness and crisis.

Posted Updated

By
Adam Owens
, WRAL anchor/reporter
RALEIGH, N.C. — Stacey Sneider spent her Saturday morning flipping 250-pound tires.

“I think I’m probably getting close to probably 100,” she said.

The physical challenge was a fundraiser benefiting North Carolina Peer Support, a nonprofit that helps local first responders suffering from mental illness and crisis.

“For every $5, we do a tire flip,” Sneider said.

Sneider works with the City-County Bureau of Identification, part of the public safety family in Wake County.

She said she knows there are co-workers carrying a lot more weight.

“Knowing that each flip you are doing is raising money for people who struggle with mental illness from some of the things we see in this job,” Sneider said.

Traci Van Deventer said firefighters, 911 dispatchers, police and EMS workers see what average citizens turn away from.

“Fatalities, wrecks or just people on their worst days,” Van Deventer said.

She works at Wake EMS and said first responders can struggle with traumatic stress.

“There are levels of being upset,” Van Deventer said. “Maybe some depression, going home and just not feeling right.”

In the past year, two fire captains in Wake County have died by suicide.

Last year, North Carolina Peer Support took around 300 calls from people in crisis.

“It’s OK to not be OK,” Van Deventer said.

Saturday’s event raised $1,800.

Organizers hope to grow it and keep it going year after year.

 Credits 

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.