Hi, I’m Kara Summers, and welcome to the 13th Responder Collaborative.

I have spent over 20 years in Emergency Medical Services as a paramedic, serving on the front lines of crisis, disaster, and everyday emergencies. I’ve seen firsthand the weight we carry in this profession. The calls don’t end when the siren stops. And too often, neither does the impact.

My career has included deployments to Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, the sidelines of the Nickel Mines tragedy, the 64-vehicle Mass Casualty Incident on Interstate-78, and the triple officer shooting in Lebanon County, Pa. These experiences shaped not only how I function as a provider and leader, but how I understand trauma, resilience, and the cumulative weight carried by those who serve. Like many in this profession, I learned how to keep going, stay composed, and take care of others — until the day the lid blew off. That moment became a turning point, changing how I viewed mental health, leadership, and the necessity of peer-based support.

Today, I am the founder of The 13th Responder Collaborative, an organization built on lived experience and credibility. I am a Mental Health First Aid Instructor, Certified Peer Paracounselor (CPPC), and an active member of the Lebanon County Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team, providing both individual crisis support and group crisis intervention. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership and have participated in a county mobile crisis intervention workgroup, contributing to the development of community-based behavioral health responses.

My work is not clinical therapy, and it is not about fixing people. It is about walking alongside others with shared understanding, meeting them where they are, and creating space to process experiences that are often carried alone.

The 13th Responder Collaborative exists for the responder after the call, when the scene is cleared, the adrenaline fades, and the weight remains. Because when the sirens stop, you still matter. And, let’s be honest, no one quite gets it like another first responder.