{"id":10991,"date":"2025-07-12T13:34:24","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T18:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bluekc.com\/blueprint\/?p=10991"},"modified":"2025-07-22T16:08:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T21:08:39","slug":"2025-blue-kc-answering-the-call-honoree-jeremy-greene","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bluekc.com\/blueprint\/community-and-culture\/sports-partnerships-community-and-culture\/2025-blue-kc-answering-the-call-honoree-jeremy-greene\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Blue KC Answering the Call Honoree Jeremy Greene"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Leading From in Front<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, Kansas City firefighter Jeremy Greene attempted suicide. The stresses of the job were too much to take. He recognized that he needed help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He went through a 30-day in-patient treatment program and came out with a new lease on life and a new purpose. He wanted to help his fellow first responders and military deal with the stress of \u201cseeing people on their worst day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to save everybody, and we think we can,\u201d said Greene, the July recipient of the \u201cBlue KC Answering the Call\u201d award, sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City and benefitting The Battle Within. \u201cOne of the best analogies I can give is a baseball analogy. All you have to do is hit .300 and you\u2019re in the Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut if you hit .300, you\u2019ve failed seven times out of 10. In our jobs, those aren\u2019t acceptable numbers. We can\u2019t save the person only three times out of 10. We believe that we should be able to do it 10 times out of 10, but that\u2019s not reality. That belief is what sets us up for failure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Battle Within is an organization that helps former military personnel and first responders like Greene cope with the sometimes-hidden trauma of their careers.<\/p>\n\n\n

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KANSAS CITY, MO – July 12: Photo from a game between the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets Saturday, July 12 2025, in Kansas City, MO (Photo by Amy Kontras\/ Kansas City Royals)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Now a captain, Greene became a firefighter after he felt stuck in a job that didn\u2019t fulfill him. One of his coworkers was married to a firefighter and she suggested that Greene apply. Greene\u2019s father had been a volunteer firefighter in Louisiana when he was a kid, so he applied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said he felt like he was prepared for the physical dangers of the job, but he wasn\u2019t prepared for the mental or emotional dangers. \u201cI don\u2019t think anybody can be 100 percent prepared for that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the car wrecks and the calls that involve kids that take a toll. We all want to go to fires, but the flip side of that is that\u2019s somebody\u2019s life that\u2019s burning down. When you stop to think about it in that aspect, that can take a toll on you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he completed his in-patient treatment, he and a couple of colleagues created The Washdown Podcast, where they help others deal with the stresses of the job. It\u2019s not just for firefighters. All military\/first responders are in tense situations that require calm responses. He has gotten a lot of good feedback from all types of folks who needed the boost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They did the podcast for five years before scheduling conflicts made it impossible to continue. But he\u2019s in the process of trying to get it started again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He felt like doing the podcast was fulfilling enough for him, but his wife, who is a clinician with The Battle Within, urged him to get a refresher by going through a TBW Cohort. He resisted her for about a year before finally giving in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first day, he was all about helping others who were not as far along in their journey to recovery as he was. His life is structured around helping others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then he realized he had to make sure he was okay first. When they do the safety instructions before a flight up to the stairs, they always tell you to put on your own oxygen mask before helping others with theirs. The Battle Within helps its clients \u201cput on their own masks\u201d before helping others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greene has been with the KCFD for 21 years in a variety of roles. He\u2019s been a captain for the past five years. Whether it\u2019s the podcast, The Battle Within or other treatment for job-related stress, Greene believes it\u2019s important for him to \u201clead from in front\u201d to those who serve under him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greene considers himself fortunate to be able to serve, both as a firefighter in general, and with helping other service-oriented people. It\u2019s brought him recognition he didn\u2019t seek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very humbling,\u201d he said of the \u201cBlue KC Answering the Call\u201d designation. \u201cAnd to be honest, I don\u2019t really know that I\u2019ve done enough to deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll just have to agree to disagree on that one.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Blue KC supports the Kansas City community through impactful sports partnership programs<\/h3>

Blue KC Answering the Call Program<\/p> <\/div>\n

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