Supporting first responders: BackStoppers starts chapter in Randolph County
An organization providing financial support to the families of first responders when tragedy strikes now has a chapter in Randolph County.
Jonathan Barbour, a Steeleville firefighter and Randolph County Deputy Sheriff, has been working with the Randolph County Firefighters Association to help bring The BackStoppers Inc. to the area.
The nonprofit group provides ongoing financial support to the spouses and dependent children of police officers, firefighters, volunteer firefighters, and publicly funded paramedics and EMTs who have lost their lives in the line of duty or been catastrophically injured.
Started in 1959 in the St. Louis area, BackStoppers now has chapters in 23 counties in Missouri and Illinois - including Randolph.
"The application process was quite a bit of work, but getting support from our First Responders in Randolph County was no problem," said Barbour, who is also chief deputy coroner.
"We received signatures from every fire chief and police chief in the county, as well as from Vice President/COD Charles Kelley of Med Star Ambulance," Barbour said. State's Attorney Jeremy Walker, state Rep. David Friess, and state Sen. Terri Bryant also provided letters of endorsement.
"We had our first Randolph County BackStoppers meeting at the Steeleville firehouse and had a great turnout," said Barbour, who lives in Steeleville with his wife and two children.
"We intend to rotate the meetings around the county at various locations. The next meeting will be held in Chester."
At their first meeting, the chapter established bylaws and elected officers, including Barbour as president. Other officers are Vice President Sean Landgraf, Red Bud Fire Chief; Treasurer Bruce Schoenbeck of Baldwin; and Treasurer Justin Hecht of Steeleville.
According to its website, BackStoppers was started to answer the question: Who helps the families of fallen first responders once the initial outpouring of sympathy and support has passed?
BackStoppers helps by eliminating the surviving family's debt; providing health, dental, and vision insurance; reimbursing out-of-pocket medical expenses; paying for home insurance, real estate and property taxes; and assisting with other extraordinary expenses.
BackStoppers currently supports approximately 95 families with 75 dependent children, and provides roughly $2.5 million in assistance annually. Since 1959 BackStoppers has supported more than 180 families.
BackStoppers is funded by memberships, individual and corporate donations, and fundraisers.
The Randolph County chapter will be responsible for hosting fundraisers as well. All proceeds go into the BackStoppers treasury, and county organizations are treated equally regarding their level of assistance.
Illinois counties served include Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Madison, Monroe, Perry, Randolph, and St. Clair. Missouri counties include Cape Girardeau, Crawford, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Perry, Pike, St. Charles, St. Francois, St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Ste. Genevieve, Warren, and Washington.
For more, visit backstoppers.org.