Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally A. Heyman, District 4, was appointed earlier this year as the Chair of the Large Urban County Caucus (LUCC), for the National Association of Counties (NACo), representing U.S. Counties with populations larger than 500,000 people.

 

Commissioner Heyman, as an active member of NACo, has held several leadership positions over the past 15 years and has consistently collaborated on best practices for Miami-Dade County and counties throughout Florida, and the United States. Commissioner Heyman has worked on numerous issues in bipartisan partnerships for Miami-Dade and counties nationwide to access federal contracts, promote civil citations and reduce jail populations, cut FEMA reimbursement bureaucracy, tax legislation, mental health and illness treatment, to name a few.

 

The Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR) Peer Support Team announced the expansion of its successful Response K-9 program on November 18th at the MDFR Ocean Rescue Station, Haulover Park (Beachside). The Response K-9 program helps first responders deal with occupational stress, as well as help victims in crisis situations. The program, which involves greyhounds and other adopted dogs, has become a model that Miami-Dade County officials are working to expand to other departments throughout Florida and the nation.

The expansion in the K-9 pilot program comes as suicide rates for first responders continue to rise nationally. A 2017 Ruderman Family Foundation study found that first responders are five times more likely than civilians to suffer from PTSD and depression. "As a former firefighter I know first-hand the demands placed on first responders and the tough situations involving loss of life that first responders often have to face," Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez said. "It's important to offer our first responders the help they need to continue to do the life-saving work they do."

Greyhound dog tracks are set to close by the end of next year, as required by a statewide voter referendum banning greyhound racing in Florida. MDFR will be working with Miami-Dade Animal Services and the Greyhound Association to adopt dogs and train them as therapy dogs to live in fire stations. Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sally Heyman has been reaching out to other localities in Florida and the nation to expand Miami-Dade's K-9 program to their jurisdictions. "When we have opportunities to support our first responders as well as rescue greyhounds, that's a win-win," Commissioner Heyman said.

The Response K-9 program was started three years ago by MDFR Captain Shawn Campana, who adopted Charlie, a greyhound, and has worked with other responders to train therapy dogs. Thanks to the support of recently retired Fire Chief Dave Downey, MDFR now has 10 therapy dogs of different breeds. "Now we are going into the next phase to help our firefighters and our civilian staff to deal with grief and embrace the importance of mental health," Captain Campana said.

Commissioner Heyman is currently working on the MDFR K-9 Response Team Foundation, created for the public to make tax-deductible donations.