Flagstaff’s Initiative for Spousal and Relationship Trauma (FIRST) has changed their name. The organization will still use the acronym FIRST, but it now stands for, “Flagstaff’s Informed Response Sharing Team.”
FIRST Administrator and FFCS Executive Director Lynne Jenkinson says, “It’s not just a rename or rebranding, it’s a new beginning for FIRST. This process has invigorated the entire board.”
FIRST started back in 1996, “and we were talking about it for two years before that.”
Initially partly a project of first-year RCMP Cst. Rachel Rohan, the organization was started to deal with domestic violence, something at the time FCS offices were not allowed to do.
“When Victim Services Units were mandated by the government, they took over most of what we were doing,” Jenkinson says.
“Now our focus is helping people achieve healthy relationships. We have information and resources that people can use.”
Jenkinson says that interest in FIRST peaked when the Community Resource Office contract was dropped by the society, later picked up by Flagstaff County.
She says FIRST is very proud to have built lasting connections in the Flagstaff community. “We look for needs and a way to fill them.” Jenkinson says during the last few years FIRST’s efforts have been concentrated on schools.
“We don’t have lots of money, but we are always looking for opportunities. Students in Flagstaff know who FIRST is.
“They remember the speakers who we’ve brought in who have touched their lives.”
This year’s dinner and auction will be the 21st. “I think it’s the longest running auction in Flagstaff where the money goes directly back to Flagstaff programs,” says Jenkinson.
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