Hernando County Fire Rescue Community Paramedics

08/23/2026

🚒 ONE OF OUR OWN NEEDS OUR HELP 💛

Our fire family is rallying around one of our members, Billy, his wife Beccah, and their sweet little girl, Josie.

Josie, who isn’t even 2 years old, has been diagnosed with B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL). In an instant, this family’s world changed, and they are now facing a battle no parent should ever have to imagine.

Billy has dedicated his career to serving our community as a firefighter, showing up for people on some of the worst days of their lives. Beccah has done the same as a nurse, dedicating herself to caring for others.

Now it’s our turn to show up for them.

The road ahead will include treatments, hospital stays, appointments, missed work, travel, and countless unexpected expenses. We want Billy and Beccah focused on one thing: being Mom and Dad and standing beside Josie while she fights.

A GoFundMe has been established to help ease the financial burden on their family during the months ahead. Every donation, no matter the amount, makes a difference. If you’re unable to donate, sharing this fundraiser can be just as important in helping us reach more people.

Firefighters understand better than most that when one of our own needs help, we answer the call. Today, we’re asking our friends, families, fellow first responders, healthcare workers, and this incredible community to help us answer the call for Josie. ❤️

Please donate if you’re able, share this fundraiser, and keep Josie and her entire family in your thoughts and prayers.

🎗️ Fight like a girl, Josie. You have an entire fire family fighting right beside you. 💪❤️

https://gofund.me/83bef5e6d

08/14/2026

The Department gave our program a little attention this week. Be sure to Like and Share!

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

08/14/2026

Facebook Famous

07/22/2026

A 27-year-old mother went into cardiac arrest after she started taking a kratom supplement, her family says.

07/20/2026

Beautiful explanation of addiction as a disease, and how the compulsion overrides choice.

The September 25, 2018, symposium "Mental Health & Addiction: Break...

06/20/2026

"Non-Compliant: When a Label Becomes the Explanation

Few words reveal more about a system than the way it describes the people it serves, and non-compliant is one of them.

It’s a label that shows up everywhere in healthcare, treatment, child welfare, mental health, and addiction services. On the surface, it sounds objective and clinical. But too often, it becomes the explanation.

A person misses an appointment and is labeled non-compliant. A parent misses counseling and is labeled non-compliant. Someone stops taking a medication, leaves treatment early, or struggles to follow a case plan, and once again the label appears.

Instead of asking what happened, we stop at what didn’t happen.

Maybe they didn’t have transportation. Maybe they couldn’t find childcare. Maybe the medication made them feel worse. Maybe they were overwhelmed, frightened, grieving, struggling with trauma, or simply trying to survive another day. Maybe they were being asked to navigate a system that would be difficult for anyone, let alone someone dealing with addiction, mental health challenges, poverty, housing instability, or all of the above.

What bothers me about this term is that it places the focus on the person’s behavior rather than the barriers standing in their way. It tells us they didn’t follow instructions, but it doesn’t tell us whether those instructions were realistic. It doesn’t tell us what support was available, what obstacles existed, or what might have helped.

What makes this label especially troubling is that it is rarely just a description. In many systems, being labeled non-compliant can have real consequences. People may lose services, lose privileges, lose visitation, be discharged from programs, or find themselves viewed through a different lens moving forward. Once the label appears in a chart, case file, or treatment record, it can begin to shape how others see them. The focus shifts from understanding what happened to documenting what they failed to do.

Many of our loved ones have been called non-compliant at one point or another. Yet when we look more closely, we often find fear, hopelessness, trauma, side effects, withdrawal, confusion, exhaustion, or circumstances that would challenge any of us. What is framed as defiance is often distress. What is labeled resistance is often a barrier that has gone unseen.

I’m not suggesting that accountability doesn’t matter. It does. But accountability and curiosity can exist together.

Before we label someone non-compliant, perhaps we should ask a different question: What got in the way?

Because if we truly want to help people, understanding the barrier is far more useful than documenting the behavior."

06/09/2026

Suboxone is a powerful tool. It saves lives, stabilizes people, and gives space to heal. There’s no shame in using it. At the same time, wanting to eventually be completely free from all substances is a deeply personal and meaningful goal. Both truths can exist together. What matters most is who you’re becoming, not just what you’re taking or not taking. Wanting full freedom often shows up after someone starts to feel whole again—so that longing can actually be a sign of growth, not dissatisfaction. You’re not “less recovered” because you’re on Suboxone. And you’re not unrealistic for wanting more. You’re simply honest. All paths to recovery look different—but they all lead toward the same truth: healing is possible. Some paths are straight and structured—meetings, therapy, medication, accountability. Some are slow and winding—grief work, self-forgiveness, learning how to sit with pain. Some are quiet—daily choices no one sees, rebuilding trust, choosing honesty. Some are loud—relapses, wake-up calls, moments that force change. There is no single right road. Recovery can be medical, spiritual, emotional, relational, or all of them at once. It can begin with surrender, with hope, or simply with exhaustion. What matters isn’t how you start—it’s that you keep moving. Forward doesn’t mean perfect. It means willing. Every path that leads you closer to truth, stability, self-respect, and freedom is a valid one.

05/30/2026

💊 CLEAN OUT YOUR MEDICINE CABINET SAFELY 💊

Join Hernando Community Coalition, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, and Tampa General Hospital for the Hernando County Prescription Drug Take Back Event!

This FREE & anonymous community event helps safely dispose of unused or expired medications to prevent misuse and keep our community safer.

📅 Date: June 20, 2026
⏰ Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
📍 Locations:
• TGH Brooksville
• TGH Spring Hill

✅ ACCEPTED ITEMS:
✔️ Prescription medications
✔️ Over-the-counter medications
✔️ Vitamins & supplements
✔️ Pet medications

❌ NOT ACCEPTED:
✖️ Needles or sharps
✖️ Liquids
✖️ Aerosols

Proper medication disposal helps protect:
💙 Children
💙 Families
💙 Pets
💙 Our environment
💙 Our community

No questions asked. Just drop off your unwanted medications safely and responsibly.

Please help spread the word by sharing this post! Together, we can prevent misuse and keep Hernando County safe. 💙

05/30/2026

The truth about Substance Use Disorder: It doesn't see age, race, income, or education.

It can affect anyone: your neighbor, coworker, family member, or friend.
SUD is a medical condition, not a moral failing. Understanding this helps us respond with compassion instead of judgment. When we break down stigma, we make it easier for people to seek help and recover.

Ready to learn more? Visit hernandocommunitycoalition.org.html

Together, we can build a community that supports recovery.

05/30/2026

Men in Recovery meets tonight at 7:00 PM at the Recovery Community Center.

If you’re navigating recovery, you’re not alone—this is a safe, supportive space to connect, share, and grow alongside others who understand.

All are welcome. 💙