Now Innovating: Supporting the mental health of first responder families

In the season 6 premiere episode of Now Innovating, a research-to-impact series at the University of Calgary, we speak with Dr. Kelly Dean Schwartz, PhD’02, MSc’92, a registered psychologist and associate professor in the Werklund School of Education, about the Family First Responder project. This research project has led to the development of a social innovation to provide mental health supports for first responder families. 

This episode, we will learn more about his research with the Social Development Research Team, discuss what led to the start of the Family First Responder project and the development of the Re: Building Families program. We also discuss the potential impacts of the program, and the scalability of this social innovation. We also hear briefly from one of Kelly’s collaborators, Scott Cowan, battalion chief for the Calgary Fire Department, who speaks to the value of this mental health programming for first responder families. 

Now Innovating shares the stories of UCalgary researchers who have moved their discoveries forward and their innovation journeys to implementation and creating impact. Episodes are released monthly and are captioned and transcribed on YouTube. Episodes are also available as a podcast on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, and more. Explore the series.