GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) — A new Green Bay non-profit aims to financially assist first responders in getting mental health care.
While First Reach Foundation is still in the planning phase and working towards 501(c)(3) status, the organization is lead by Executive Director Billi Jo Baneck. The organization also has an associate director and a 5 member board.
Baneck worked as a 911 dispatcher for 12 years before starting First Reach. She shared why she was inspired to create the organization.
“Fifteen years ago my parents and my youngest brother were killed in a house fire,” said Baneck. “My mom was a 911 dispatcher, so her coworkers pulled her out of the fire. I watched the effect it had on those first responders.”
Between the cost of mental health care, and taking time off work to receive care; First Reach would alleviate these financial barriers. Money would come from fundraising, donations, grants, sponsors, and more.
Baneck says she hopes to have the organization up and running by the end of this year.
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