Joe Rich

Greetings! My name is Joe Rich and I have been with the Durham Fire Department for 17 years and currently serve as Capt. of E-4. I also have been working as a medic with Durham County EMS for the last 13 years. On my rare days off, I enjoy movies and anything that allows me to be outdoors. I have always been one of the guys people come and talk to about everyday things and stress from the job. Then came the day when I needed an ear. My wife and I suffered through several miscarriages and infertility while trying to conceive a second child. That, combined with the stress of work, family, and being the only income provider for the home, was a lot more stress than I ever thought was possible for me to handle. To work your entire adult life helping complete strangers and then not being able to help the woman you love more than any other, was almost too much to bare. Then, through dumb luck, I found another co-worker that had just went through the same thing. After just talking to him and realizing that others went through the same thing that I was going through, helped in ways that can’t be described. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders, like I had been completely rejuvenated and my will and desire had been replenished. I had never sat on the other side before, never experienced just how much better you feel physically and mentally after just talking to someone. That is why peer support matters so much to me and why I am trying to spread the message as much as I can. I am very happy to report that my wife and I were eventually successful and on Sept. 29, 2018 my beautiful daughter Cheyenne was born.