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From Struggle to Strength.
Old Dominion EMS Alliance is pleased to offer Boulder Crest Foundation’s Struggle Well Training in both 2-Day and 5-Day formats for first responders and public safety professionals.
First responders routinely experience stress, struggle, hardship, and adversity—often while helping others through some of the most difficult moments of their lives.
Struggle Well is an immersive, interactive training program developed by the Boulder Crest Foundation and grounded in the framework of Posttraumatic Growth (PTG). Rather than focusing only on managing or reducing the effects of stress and adversity, Struggle Well explores how difficult experiences can become opportunities for growth, strength, connection, purpose, and continued service.
These regional offerings are designed primarily for EMS, fire service, and law enforcement personnel, while also welcoming other first responders and public safety professionals who may benefit from the program.
Training Options
5-Day Struggle Well Training
ODEMSA Registration Open
November 9–13, 2026
9:00 AM–5:00 PM daily
Location:
Old Dominion EMS Alliance Training Center
7818 East Parham Road
Henrico, VA
Class Size: Limited to 25 participants
Participants registering for the 5-Day program are expected to attend all five days.
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2-Day Struggle Well Training
Amelia County Registration Open
December 12–13, 2026
9:00 AM–5:00 PM both days
Location:
Amelia County Fire Rescue, Fire Station #1
8950 Otterburn Road
Amelia, VA
Class Size: Limited to 25 participants
Participants registering for the 2-Day program are expected to attend both days.
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Dinwiddie County Fire & EMS — Registration Closed
October 12–13, 2026
9:00 AM–5:00 PM both days
Location:
Dinwiddie Fire & EMS – Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
13850 Courthouse Road
Dinwiddie, VA 23841
Participants registering for the 2-Day program are expected to attend both days.
What Is Struggle Well?
Struggle Well is a peer-based, prevention-focused training program designed to help first responders better understand how stress, struggle, hardship, and trauma can affect thoughts, feelings, actions, relationships, and sense of purpose.
The program is built around the framework of Posttraumatic Growth, which examines how difficult experiences can also become catalysts for meaningful growth and transformation.
The objective of Struggle Well is to help participants prepare, practice, and implement an individualized plan for personal growth by transforming struggle into strength and enabling continued service to themselves, their families, their agencies, and their communities.
Struggle Well is educational and experiential in nature. It is not counseling, psychotherapy, medication management, or medical treatment.
2-Day vs. 5-Day Training
Both the 2-Day and 5-Day Struggle Well programs cover the same core framework, including:
- Education
- Regulation
- Disclosure
- Story
- Service
The primary difference is the amount of time available to explore and apply the material.
The 2-Day program provides a focused, accelerated experience in which participants are introduced to and work through all five phases over two days.
The 5-Day program provides a substantially more in-depth experience, allowing significantly more time for facilitated discussion, practical exercises, personal reflection, application of the concepts, and integration of the Struggle Well framework throughout the week.
Both formats are complete Struggle Well training experiences. The 5-Day format simply allows participants to spend considerably more time exploring and applying each part of the program.
What Will Participants Explore?
The two-day Struggle Well program moves through the major elements of the Posttraumatic Growth framework and gives participants opportunities to understand, discuss, reflect upon, and apply those concepts.
Participants will explore:
- Trust & Connection – creating an environment where open, honest, and meaningful communication can occur.
- Education & Posttraumatic Growth – understanding how struggle affects thoughts, feelings, and actions and learning how adversity can also create opportunities for growth.
- Regulation – exploring practical approaches involving mind, body, finances, spirit, supportive relationships, personal routines, and goal setting.
- Disclosure – examining the importance of talking about difficult experiences and developing healthier ways to strengthen interpersonal relationships.
- Story – exploring values, meaning, purpose, relationships, and the development of a positive, forward-looking personal story.
- Service – considering how personal experience, strength, and growth can help participants better serve themselves, their families, coworkers, agencies, and communities.
- Reflection & Application – identifying what resonates, how those lessons can be integrated into life and work, and what support may be needed moving forward.
- Team Integration – discussing how Struggle Well concepts and practices can be incorporated into first responder culture and organizations.
More Than Classroom Training
The Struggle Well experience is designed to continue beyond the classroom.
Following the in-person training, participants receive continued connection, education, training, and engagement through the Struggle Well App.
The program model includes ongoing follow-up connection and engagement, and participants have ongoing access to the Struggle Well community and resources designed to support continued learning, accountability, connection, and personal growth.
Participants are encouraged to begin applying the principles and practices introduced during training in their personal and professional lives.
Who Should Attend?
Struggle Well is designed for first responders and public safety professionals, with a primary emphasis on EMS and fire service personnel.
The program may be especially valuable for:
- Frontline EMS providers and firefighters
- Law Enforcement Officers
- EMS and fire officers
- Peer support team members
- Educators and instructors
- Training officers
- Supervisors and organizational leaders
- Wellness and resilience personnel
- Emergency communications personnel
- Emergency management personnel
- Other public safety professionals
No previous Struggle Well experience is required for Struggle Well Training.
Meals, Travel, and Lodging
Lunch will be provided each day of training at no cost to participants.
Participants will be asked during registration to identify any dietary restrictions or food allergies that should be considered when planning meals.
Participants are responsible for arranging and paying for their own transportation and overnight lodging, if needed.
Participants traveling from outside the immediate area should plan accordingly to ensure they are able to attend the complete program from 9:00 AM–5:00 PM for all class days.
Registration Information
Registration is now open for both the 5-Day November 9–13, 2026 offering and the 2-Day December 12–13, 2026 offering.
Because Struggle Well is an immersive and highly interactive program, enrollment is limited to 25 participants.
Participants should register only if they expect to be available for the entire course offering they select. Those registering for the 2-Day program are expected to attend both days. Those registering for the 5-Day program are expected to attend all five days.
If your preferred class is full, please contact Chris Vernovai at cvernovai@vaems.org to be added to the waitlist.
If you are unable to attend after registering, please notify Old Dominion EMS Alliance as soon as possible so that your space may be offered to another participant.
ODEMSA reserves the right to cancel, postpone, relocate, or otherwise modify a course due to low enrollment, weather, instructor availability, operational needs, or other circumstances beyond our control. Registered participants will be notified of any significant changes as soon as practical.
Course Funding
There is no registration fee for either course.
Participant registration costs are being supported through funding provided by the Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS).
This funding allows ODEMSA to provide this Struggle Well training opportunity to first responders and public safety professionals at no registration cost.
Register for the Course
Registration is required.
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