IAFF Center of Excellence on Behavioral Health Coming to California

IAFF’s groundbreaking Center of Excellence on Behavioral Health in Maryland has become an indispensable resource to provide treatment and healing for firefighters facing post-traumatic stress. Soon, that important service will be closer for California firefighters.

At the CAL FIRE Local 2881 Convention in Sacramento in January, IAFF General President Harold A. Schaitberger announced that a second IAFF Center of Excellence will be built and located in California.

“We want to open up the ability of our members to step forward and ask for help, and know it’s there and being provided,” Schaitberger said.

The IAFF Center of Excellence is a unique treatment facility geared toward treatment of addiction, PTSI and other behavioral health challenges. The focus and design of the center, as well as the peer support it provides, is helping firefighters on the path to healing.

“On behalf of 30,000 proud firefighters in California, I want to thank General President Schaitberger and our IAFF for bringing this singular resource to California,” said CPF President Brian K. Rice. “To have a Center of Excellence in the West gives our California firefighters a treatment option closer to home, and more tuned to their needs.”

Details about the new center, including its specific location and timeline for completion, are still being determined. You can learn more about the center at iaffrecoverycenter.com.