Yup. The opportunities to enter the service are there.
It’s retention that’s dismal. They learn the skills then take them elsewhere.
And I honestly don’t blame them one bit. It’s very, very taxing and important work that isn’t recompensed properly.
I’m patiently waiting for someone (anyone) I know to decide to throw out an old laptop.
Gonna bite their hand off for it, install Linux and proceed to fuck around and find out.
I imagine it’s actually quite harmful.
People should be encouraged took seek advice and help if they suspect they have any kind of mental disability. It’s stigmatized as it is, to the point that many people actively shy away from acknowledging their condition, or, get concerned that they’re just overreacting, don’t really have the condition, and are instead some kind of faker/imposter, doing harm by putting demand on a care system that they feel other people are more deserving of, and generalising a serious condition.
If people suspect they need help, they should be encouraged to seek it. It’s not a contest and they shouldn’t feel ashamed.
I’ve been a few times over about 15 years or so. This was out in the woods, using gas-powered guns.
They’ve always been free sessions and they generally just allocate people on teams randomly, so there’s no promise the people you go with will be on the same team or not.
It really is just luck of the draw for the most part. Some people get stuck in, others don’t.
Don’t bother wearing loads of layers - it won’t make a difference when you get hit. You’ll be better off making sure you’re comfortable.
Plus, your mask is going to fog up, so the cooler you can stay, the less trouble you’ll have with it.
No idea of that helps, but take it for what you will!