When someone is having what could be the worst day of their life in DeKalb County, a team of people you’ll likely never see is often the first to help.

The dispatchers working in the DeKalb County Sheriff’s dispatch center in Sycamore are the people behind the voices on the phone that answer when 911 is dialed.

Night shift dispatcher Sabrina Brooks, Deputy Laura Flink, training officer Katherine Rebhorn and Communications Sgt. Becky Taft – as well as at least a dozen of their coworkers – have all helped people through tough, harrowing situations.

Brooks, who has worked as a night shift dispatcher for 10 years, said she finds the job rewarding.

“You never know what you’re going to get day to day, so that makes it kind of exciting, or from call to call, really,” Brooks said.

Taft, who’s been with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office for 19 years, said they aren’t strangers to chaotic workdays.

“It just depends on the day, but there are days when there’s a lot of controlled chaos,” Taft said.

Flink, one of the remaining sworn deputies working in the dispatch center, has been there for almost 24 years. She said, “It’s kind of surreal” to think about how they have helped save lives.

“We do it just automatically, so it’s not really something we ever really normally think about on a regular basis,” Flink said. “We don’t really get acknowledged very often. We’re the silent ones in the background because usually we’re just on the phone with people, so it’s not something most of us think of day to day.”

Rebhorn, who’s spent almost eight years as a telecommunicator and five as a training officer, said that she got into her line of work because she wanted to help people. She’s chosen to stay in what can be a mentally taxing job because she enjoys being part of a community with the same goal as hers.

“The first responder community is a unique, tight-knit group of people that truly becomes a second family, and being part of that is really special to me,” Rebhorn wrote. “I feel lucky to work alongside the first responders in DeKalb County, and I also feel proud to serve the community that I’ve lived in my whole life.”

Taft said dispatchers “have to have a few different tools” in their metaphorical toolbox to help distressed callers through whatever situation they’re in. That can include walking a person through how to do CPR over the phone, how to hide from an intruder and more.

“I think that all the dispatchers are absolutely heroes,” Taft said. “They’re the first first responders. We’re the first ones that are on scene without being on scene.”

Flink also agreed that dispatchers are heroes, possibly every day they go to work.

“There are days when you get a call, and somebody’s walked in and found a family member that has stopped breathing, and you walk them through CPR, and sometimes you get them back,” Flink said. “Every little thing can make you a hero in different ways, all the way from saving a life to finding a cellphone or somebody’s dog.”

Rebhorn doesn’t think she or her coworkers have sought to be heroes, however.

“I don’t think any of us want to be labeled as ‘heroes’ – but I do think that the work we do is important and often overlooked,” Rebhorn said. “We are the first point of contact for people calling 911 for help. Our priority is to send people the resources they need while also keeping our first responders informed and safe.”

Brooks said she doesn’t look at herself as a hero.

“I know everybody I work with loves what we do, and they love helping people,” Brooks said. “I don’t know that I would consider myself a hero. I don’t know, but it’s a job that needs to be done, and we do it, and we love what we do.”