Today we’d like to introduce you to Jake Laferriere
Hi Jake, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Firefighters for Healing founder Jake LaFerriere is the son of a firefighter. When Jake was young he remembered dropping his dad off at the station and looking up to the firefighters. He remembers spending time shadowing Pops or helping to clean off the rigs. This precious time left an impression on his heart. When Jake was old enough, he dedicated years to training and honored the calling to also become a firefighter.
In January 2001, when Jake became a Firefighter he had realized a lifelong dream. Jake’s days at Station 8 running the rigs in and around Uptown on Hennepin, Girard, Lyndale and Lake was where he earned his stripes and respect from his peers.
He learned teamwork, loyalty, courage, bravery and strength.
In July 2010, Jake barely survived a backdraft explosion. He laid in the Hennepin Healthcare Burn Unit with only a few immediate family members and friends allowed to see him and witness his pain. The emotions, the physical pain, the fear of the unknown and many challenges were his reality for quite a few months.
Jake would lean on his faith and true friends, listen to advice and draw on his inner strength to remain hopeful for a full recovery. When doctors informed Jake that his hands were too injured to lift the weight of a fireman’s breathing apparatus or carry a fire hose … he was forced to retire. Although devastating, Jake had the courage to start Firefighters for Healing to bring aid to burn survivors and their families.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
With great success, comes great responsibility. Each time we fundraise, we have the opportunity to create the program or resource for our beneficiaries. In 2018, after 3 Red Tie Galas we had raised enough money to open emergency housing units and open Camp RED for children and families. What started as a feasibility study around housing needs turned into meeting the demand of the Burn Unit families which got even more intense during Covid in 2020.
With each roadblock or barrier, Jake turned inward to pray and outward to his volunteer board of directors for viable options. Sometimes it took creativity, sometimes it took patience, most times it took more fundraising and teamwork.
There have been so many thin spaces over the years that brought people into our community to help, guide, fund, connect, make introductions, and support the vision and mission. It has been an honor to be on this journey.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Firefighters For Healing is a 501(c)3 charitable organization that supports burn survivors, firefighters, first responders and their families. Our vision is to be a beacon of hope, empathy and compassion for the burn community and also our hero first responders in ways that inspire others to do the same.
The Transitional Healing Center features 12 “home-away-from-home” suites for the families of burn survivors or firefighters/first responders who are being cared for at the Hennepin Healthcare Burn Center and other Twin Cities hospitals.
To date we have provided more than 3700 free nights of stay that has saved families more than $650,000.
Families who qualify for emergency housing are immediate family of a burn survivor or first responder, who is from/lives in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, or has been transported to Hennepin Healthcare’s Level 1 Burn Center. There is no limit to the amount of time families can utilize housing except that the patient needs to be in the hospital or in outpatient treatment and they need to abide by the Code of Conduct. This emergency housing offers not only a respite for families dealing with a traumatic situation but also significant financial relief.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.firefightersforhealing.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ff4healing/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/firefighters-for-healing
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0MPahFvP-WnQ0gGKAHEw-Q
