Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance

About the Scholarship Program

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Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance Scholarship Information

New Scholarship available for the 2025-2026 School Year

Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance Scholarships provide higher education financial assistance to the children, spouses and partners of firefighters who took their lives. Jeff Dill, founder of Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance, has created a scholarship program in memory of those who have struggled with personal issues in their lives and felt suicide was their only way to remove their internal pain and suffering. For over 15 years FBHA has devoted their efforts to educating firefighters and EMS personnel on suicide prevention and awareness.

FBHA’s commitment and leadership in the industry has led to developing this scholarship program for surviving family members.  The previous program awarded all of the funds donated specifically for the scholarships in memory of family members below:

  1. Firefighter Jack Slivinski Jr. Scholarship – Awarded September 2015 – Kayla Hill
  2. Firefighter Scott Charles Bellucci Scholarship – Awarded November 2015 – Seth Livengood
  3. Firefighter/Paramedic Todd A. Diercks Scholarship – Awarded October 2019 – Danielle Rebensdorf
  4. Firefighter Timothy J. Karnisky Scholarship – Awarded April 2019 – Elizabeth Henderson
  5. Firefighter Michael Bonanno Scholarship – Awarded August 2018 – Alice Peterson

In 2021, FBHA updated the perimeters for the Scholarship. The $1,000.00 Scholarship will be awarded once a year to one candidate. The candidate can receive the award one time. All the funds for the Scholarship will be sent directly to the Bursar at the College, University or Trade School.

If you or your organization would like to donate to the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance Scholarship program, please visit the “Ways to Help” tab on our website and make your donation. Thank you

FUNDING: Scholarships are made possible by generous donations from the public and private organizations, fundraisers specifically held for the FBHA scholarship program, as well as a percentage of funds provided by workshops, presentations and consulting approved by the Board of Directors of Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance. One scholarship for $1,000 will be awarded per one school year. Candidate can only receive it one time. Scholarship awards will be announced once they have been approved. Scholarship awards will be made directly to the applicant’s college for the upcoming academic year, upon verification of enrollment in a university or post-secondary institution (may be a certificate or degree granting institution).
 
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:  Applicant must be the natural or legally adopted child, spouse or legal partner of a firefighter, EMT or Dispatcher who died by suicide.   There is no age restriction. Applicant must possess: A high school diploma or equivalent, or in the final year of high school. Or currently enrolled in a College, University or Trade School.

APPLICATION PROCESS: Candidates seeking a FBHA Scholarship award must complete an application form and forward it to the FBHA Scholarship Panel by the closing application date. Applications may be downloaded from the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance website at www.ffbha.org or obtained from FBHA by emailing info@ffbha.org. Application closing date is June, 30, 2025, for the first semester and October 31, 2025, for the second semester. All applications and supporting materials must be emailed to info@ffbha.org or mailed to FBHA Scholarship Program postmarked on or before this date. Application for scholarship must include:

1) A completed FBHA Scholarship Application form

2) A brief essay (no more than 500 words typed), prepared by the applicant, on the following topic:

Having had a suicide impact your family, how would you use your experience to promote prevention and awareness to others?  

SELECTION CRITERIA: Applicants will be assessed, and awards granted based on the following criteria:   

1) All information provided in the application

2) The thoughtfulness of the applicant’s essay and its relevance to the topic.

3) Provide official high school or college transcripts with a minimum 3.5 GPA.

DONATIONS:  If you or your organization would like to donate to the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance Scholarship program, please visit the “Ways to Help” tab on our website and make your donation. Thank you

Confidential Firefighter Suicide Report

In order for FBHA to be able to serve the needs of the fire service family, the more information we can gather on the firefighter suicide mechanism for pro-active training, the better. By gathering as much information as we can, we can provide a profile that helps identify at-risk firefighters before this tragedy strikes. This information has proven to be an invaluable tool for the police service. We request that anyone having information on a firefighter suicide please contact FBHA using the form below. Because we are mindful that some agencies prohibit the release of information by their Departments, and that some family members may not be aware that there is a way to make notifications, we have developed a "blind form" that assists in providing anonymity for the submitting party. This form has been graciously given to FBHA to use from Robert E. Douglas, Jr. of the National P.O.L.I.C.E. Suicide Foundation. Once you submit this confidential form, it is transmitted to Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance's email, with the sender information removed. Since we have no means to contact the submitter back because that information is blocked, we appreciate as much information as you can provide. FBHA then uses this information to keep its training pro-active and post-event, current. At a minimum, we require the agency's name, state, firefighter's sex, rank, years of service, date of death, how death occurred, and any stressors identified or suspected as being a catalyst. We would appreciate any additional information or details that can be provided. It is FBHA's policy not to release firefighter or department specific information. We respect the privacy of the families and agencies involved. It is not our intention to cause any undue pain to families or agencies. Additionally, we do not release this specific case information to the media. Sincerely, Jeff Dill Founder Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance
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