Decorated tactical paramedic Steve Urszenyi turned decades of frontline trauma into award-nominated thrillers. In this conversation, he reflects on a lifetime of crisis leadership – from commanding Ontario’s Emergency Response Team to managing the 2015 Pan Am Games – and how creativity became his path to healing.

When retired Master Warrant Officer John Blaine finally looked in the mirror and decided to ask for help, it wasn’t a sign of weakness — it was the turning point of a lifetime spent in service. In this Remembrance Day special, John reflects on four decades in uniform: from Cyprus and Germany to Afghanistan’s Operation Medusa. He speaks candidly about moral injury, the invisible wounds of service, and what it takes to rebuild after losing your sense of purpose. Honest, grounded, and deeply human, Fixing What Is Broken reminds us that the fight for survival doesn’t always end on the battlefield — […]

This week, The Other Side of the Call sits down with Don E. Devine, one of Canada’s earliest paramedics and a pioneer of ambulance service in British Columbia. From the early days when funeral homes doubled as ambulances to the 1996 Vernon mass-casualty call that scarred an entire responder community, Don’s career charts both the rise of a profession and the toll it can take on those who serve it. After decades on the road and years spent burying his own trauma under alcohol, anger, and humour, Don finally faced what the job had done to him. With the help of an […]

After more than 30 years with Peel Regional Police, Constable Dave McLennan retired but wasn’t done service. He founded Boots On The Ground, a 24/7 volunteer-powered peer support line for first responders. What began as ten to twenty calls a month has grown to more than 150 monthly, with over 4,700 calls answered and 51 life-saving interventions since the line launched in 2018. In our season premiere of The Other Side of the Call, Dave shares how a small team with a big mission built a trusted, confidential network that now services police fire, EMS, corrections, dispatchers, nurses and military […]

Coming November 4, 2025 – Stories of trauma, resilience, and recovery from Canada’s first responders, frontline members, and military personnel. Hosted by former 911 dispatcher Amelia Thornton and psychotherapists Rebecca Rafuse and Kathy Ann Laman.