Vincent Savoia

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Mental Health Advocate and Strategist, Keynote Speaker Trauma-Informed Coach

Vincent Savoia is a transformational leader who has significantly impacted the trajectory of the mental health conversation in Canada. I approach every challenge by following my motto, “Be inspired to change yourself, and then change the world.” As a former paramedic and a PTSD survivor, I am no stranger to crisis and trauma. Instead of letting various traumatic experiences define me, I have made it my life’s mission to learn how to deal with trauma in healthy ways, develop resiliency, and positively impact mental health conversations. I have been providing trauma-informed coaching since 2010. During one of your coaching sessions, you can count on me to lead a compassionate, meaningful, and proactive conversation in a way that makes you feel safe to discuss difficult topics. You will come to understand how trauma has affected you, and you will learn strategies that will assist you in unlocking your potential.

As part of my dedication to reducing the stigma around mental health conversations, I founded the Tema Conter Memorial Trust. This organization was instrumental in providing advocacy, education, training, and peer and psychological support to Canada’s public safety community. I have over 37-years of experience in education, financial services, mental health, not-for-profit, and public safety sectors. I am an articulate communicator that always gets rave reviews from my peers.

Mr. Steve Urszenyi, EMAT Program Manager at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, can’t recommend Vince enough. He says, “Vince has directly contributed to the development and implementation of programs and legislation to support and assist individuals working in the emergency response and military communities who have been stricken by work-related mental injuries.” Dr. Brian Goldman, Canada’s Premier Radio Medical Host, offers similar accolades when he says, “Vince has put the issue of PTSD and stress among paramedics and other rescue workers on the front burner. His leadership is creative and inclusive. Vincent Savoia has a knack for persuading the most high-profile people to join the cause. He knows how to draw earned media coverage. A winner in all ways.”

With a strong moral compass and with a very pragmatic approach to changing the world, Vincent Savoia has been recognized for my accomplishments by the Governor-General of Canada, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and the Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning.

Topic Presentations

Vincent Savoia's Customized Presentation Topics

Vincent Savoia can deliver keynote, workshops and training on the following topics:

Suicide Awareness

Suicide Prevention

PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Trauma

Mental Health

Mental Health Awareness

Mental Health Policy

Mental Health

Crisis Intervention

Self Care

Psychological First Aid

Stress Management

Crisis Communication

First Responders - (Police, Fire, and Paramedic Departments)

Public Safety

Resiliency

Peer Support

Best Practices

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Language Spoken

English

Travels From

Toronto, Ontario

VIDEOS

BOOKS

A Quiet Courage: Inspiring Stories from All of Us

Based on Paula Todd’s widely viewed television program Person to Person, an intimate biography show about human behaviour, A Quiet Courage shows us that it is often ordinary people who have something extraordinary to teach us. Todd explores the unique ways twelve fascinating men and women from around the world not only survive the unimaginable, but manage to thrive afterwards, including: an artist whose family is murdered; a sales clerk diagnosed with colon cancer who is given six months to live; an award-winning chef who is paralyzed in a car accident and is told he will never be able to cook again; a paramedic who suffers from critical incident stress disorder after discovering a murdered rape victim who closely resembles his fiancee; and a senior police officer who suffers clinical depression after investigating some of Canada’s most notorious murderers, including Paul Bernardo. A Quiet Courage is an inspirational book about overcoming the worst life has to offer, deriving strength from tragedy, and learning from the experience. These are revealing, compelling stories about the exceptional courage of everyday heroes.

The Price We Pay

Decision-making happens throughout our lives. Some decisions we are proud of, others we regret, but they shape our lives. This book examines extraordinary events told to the author by more than 25 remarkable people. The men and women are police officers, firefighters, Canadian military personnel, Emergency Health Services (EHS) attendants, grief counsellors, social workers and ordinary citizens. All have faced adversity. Some have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and that is an important part of their story. These are stories of hope and healing in the face of regret, challenge, and, in some cases, life and death. One high-ranking Canadian police officer reveals to the author, for the first time publicly, that he has been diagnosed with PTSD. The diagnosis came after years of demanding first responder work both in Canada and abroad, including devastating earthquake and flood recovery and relief efforts. In another case, a former Ontario paramedic describes how a decision he made at a murder scene left him reeling. He has since started a non-profit organization in the victim’s honour and travelled coast to coast in Canada raising awareness that “Heroes are Human.” A mother of two describes her split-second decision to drive her car, at high speed, into a ditch alongside a Nova Scotia highway. When her car malfunctioned and a head-on collision was imminent, she acted selflessly to avoid killing or injuring anyone. Her near-death experience and dramatic roadside rescue by two members of the military will haunt readers of this true story. Underpinning the work is Landry’s interview with the man who accidentally caused the horrific house fire which was the focus of her previous work, The Sixty Second Story. That book pays homage to her late father, Baz Landry, a Canadian Medal of Bravery recipient, and his Halifax firefighting peers. Together they rescued an eight-week-old infant from a burning home in 1978.

ARTICLES & MEDIA

TESTIMONIALS

"I would love to recommend Vince Savoia as a public speaker, mental health advocate and strategist. I’ve been associated with Vince for over 20 years and worked with him on many projects. I myself, am a Canadian Hall of Fame Speaker so know the business. I’ve also been humbled to work alongside countless first responders in the field of PTSD that Vince introduced me to and know how committed he is to remove the stigma of mental health. I’m proud to know him!"
Alvin Law, CSP, HoF

"I have known Mr. Vince Savoia for three decades. He is a warm, compassionate and caring human being who channelled his own personal psychological response to a tragic event into a highly effective effort to raise awareness of critical incident stress and PTSD and their effect on first responders. His leadership and advocacy has not only helped him achieve this goal but has directly contributed to the development and implementation of programs and legislation to support and assist individuals working in the emergency response and military communities who have been stricken by work-related mental injuries. Mr. Savoia is an amazing a tireless advocate for change. We owe a great debt to this man and to the Tema Conter Memorial Trust. Thank you, Vince."
Steve Urszenyi Commander/Program Manager, Ontario Emergency Medical Assistance Team (EMAT) at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

"Vince has an extraordinary passion for helping others. Having the ability to say that I know Vince and have worked with him in any aspect is truly an honour and privilege. Recently, Vince and his team at the Tema Conter Memorial Trust undertook an immense and rewarding task to bring awareness and education to Canada's emergency responders through the Heroes are Human PTSD Awareness Tour. This tour has brought insight and attention to an injury that occurs to our emergency responders from professionals in the services and beyond. As Vince blazes the trails to awareness and education of our emergency responders, I am hopeful to be a small part of the great work that he continues to do!"
Michael Seth Director of Fire & Emergency Services/Fire Chief Cape Breton Regional Municipality

"Vince is a smart organizer. He is the perfect combination of brains and passion. As Exec. Director of the Tema Conter Memorial Trust, Vince has put the issue of PTSD and stress among paramedics and other rescue workers on the front burner. His leadership is creative and inclusive. He has a knack for persuading the most high profile of people to join the cause. He knows how to draw earned media coverage. A winner in all ways."
Dr. Brian Goldman, MD Radio Medical Host and Broadcaster

"Vince is a consummate professional: honest, consistent, thorough and principled. From my perspective in working with Vince over many years through the Tema Conter foundation, I have been enriched personally and I know he has affected others positively through his ability to create, implement and sustain a vision to make the world a better place."
Dr. Brian Schwartz, MD, MScCH Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto