Fire Chief Bruno M. knows how it feels to be in a fire.  

After witnessing traumatic incidents in his career, he had learned to cope by masking his emotions with a strong work ethic by day, dealing with nightmares and little sleep by night. It was a cancer diagnosis that forced him to slow down. 

Being taken away from the work that he so loved, Bruno was faced with traumatic memories and new feelings of anger.  

Bruno survived. He found out that there is help for the helpers. He was hopeful, yet skeptical when he first heard about the Veterans Transition Program (VTP).   

The VTP gave Bruno the tools to slow down and adapt and react to his emotions appropriately. The act of putting words to the painful images he’d been holding in his head was an act of release.  

He calls his VTN experience “extremely helpful” and “surreal,” but makes it clear that, “The VTN didn’t cure me. I still go to therapy. I still do the work. I’m still fragile.” It is the acknowledgment of his fragility that formed the foundation for Bruno’s emotional reconnection with his family.  

Thank you for making a difference for Veterans like Bruno M.  

Read #VTP grad Bruno M.'s full story here.