By Sam McLaughlin
The Arizona Daily Sun
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. 鈥� The Flagstaff City Council approved a $294,000 contract extension with Redemption Counseling Center, Inc. during its regular meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 26, to provide mental health services to police and firefighters.
According to background information included in the meeting agenda, city staff initiated a short-term, three-month contract with the Flagstaff-based counseling center on July 11 during the council鈥檚 summer break. The extension adds another nine months of services for a total cost of approximately $392,000. Both the initial and the continuing contract were funded by allocations already included in the city鈥檚 budget for fiscal year 2025-2026.
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Approval of the contract was on the council鈥檚 consent agenda for the day 鈥� where it would normally receive no specific comment or discussion 鈥� but Councilman Anthony Garcia requested to pull the item for a brief conversation.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a crucial and impactful item,鈥� Garcia said, and asked to hear more from the departments about how the services have been advertised to employees and utilized.
Fire Chief Mark Gaillard told the council that, historically, most fire departments did not provide significant support for mental or behavioral health.
鈥淔or years, fire departments took better care of their fire trucks than they did their members,鈥� Gaillard said.
The contract with Redemption has reduced wait times and improved access to mental health care for firefighters, he said, including both post-critical-incident care and preventative care.
鈥淚鈥檓 so excited, and I鈥檓 so grateful to the council for placing that into our toolbox to support our folks,鈥� Gaillard said.
He noted that, in the wake of the unexpected death of Cpt. Paramedic Paul Sanders at his home on Aug. 23. Redemption had hosted a 鈥渃ritical incident stress meeting鈥� for all staff on shift Tuesday morning.
鈥淲e are providing services for the maintenance of our individuals鈥� health,鈥� the chief continued. 鈥淲e鈥檙e able to catch trends and try to catch things early, and try to provide continued support.鈥�
Deputy Fire Chief Chris Fennell told the council that the fire districts surrounding Flagstaff have been utilizing Redemption鈥檚 counseling services for approximately five years.
鈥淚t鈥檚 saved marriages; it鈥檚 saved jobs. In one case, it saved a life,鈥� Fennell said.
Police Chief Sean Connolly was also present at the meeting, but he declined to add to what fire department staff had already shared.
Councilwoman Khara House praised the fire and police department leaders for their 鈥渇oresight and wisdom鈥� and for 鈥減rioritizing the mental health and well-being of our police and fire teams and our public safety officers.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a real honor to be part of a Council that can support this type of work,鈥� she added.
The council then approved the contract extension unanimously.
Redemption Counseling Center is a Flagstaff nonprofit employing multiple therapists and counselors. It offers counseling services that integrate clients鈥� religious or spiritual faith, though this is not a requirement, and the center has no specific religious affiliation.
鈥淔or those who want to do this work without a faith or spiritual component, integration of faith is not required, integrated, or pushed in any way,鈥� the practice鈥檚 website notes.
Under the terms of the contract with the city, Redemption is required to provide up to 42 regular counseling sessions (45-50 minutes per session) each week for firefighters and police personnel, 24 individual debriefing sessions or 鈥渃risis appointments鈥� for individuals who have experienced critical incidents or traumatic events (12 per department) and quarterly mental health education sessions for all employees.
The contract extension also included an addendum specifying that Redemption will provide up to 12 counseling sessions for spouses or children of Flagstaff鈥檚 first responders.
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