With 14 years of experience in the corrections industry, plus family in the field, Kristen Thompson has a bead on what goes on inside correctional facilities. Thompson, who is a field services training manager for the Wyoming Department of Corrections, had a parent who worked in corrections, and her spouse also works in corrections. So, … Read more
A staggering 90% of police officers surveyed reported stigma as a barrier to seeking mental health help. Some of that stigma stems from what they, and other people in public safety, witness as part of their jobs. “Just as the general public has stigmas surrounding mental health, public safety officers have even greater stigma,” says … Read more
What we say and do in response to the signs and symptoms of a mental health or substance use challenge can have a tremendous impact on the perceptions, actions and outcomes of all involved. That’s really true for public safety officers! Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) focuses on identifying and responding to the early signs … Read more
Deputy sheriff. Army veteran. Crisis intervention specialist. Hostage negotiator. These titles paint a picture of the multitude of trainings I’ve taken and certifications I’ve earned throughout my career, but I am first and foremost a Mental Health First Aider. I have retired after 23 years in law enforcement and taken on the primary role of … Read more
Police officers are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, faced with enforcing the law while potentially confronting the coronavirus. Although in some places crime rates are dropping because of physical distancing, police officers continue to work long and tiring hours with the risk of insufficient personal protective gear. Despite this, there are more than … Read more
Peer pressure in schools. Stress in the workplace. Negative memories you can’t let go of. Everyone faces personal challenges and their own journey to recovery. One of the things that makes Mental Health First Aid unique is tailored courses that meet the needs of specific populations. Whether you are a young adult in school, public … Read more
This post originally appeared on the Capitol Connector blog. View the original post. On Tuesday, May 8th, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing hosted briefings on Capitol Hill to highlight the importance of Mental Health First Aid training in helping communities respond to opioid overdoses and other substance use and mental health crises. The briefing … Read more
Our Cloud 911 family – family in the professional, I-love-working-with-these-people-sense – is made up of people living with private pain: the singular pain that stems from first-hand experience confronting the difficulties of mental illness, both in ourselves and among those we love. We’ve lost family members, witnessed incarceration and hospitalization and have both provided treatment … Read more
Here in St. Louis County, we’re very proud of this statistic: On average, our police officers have had to use force in only 1 percent of cases involving an encounter with someone in a mental health crisis. That’s a remarkably low number considering that the St. Louis County Police Intervention Team (CIT) officers respond to … Read more
When we think of police officers, our minds may jump to the physical tools resting on their toolbelts: tasers, handguns, handcuffs. What we don’t often think of are the tools that aren’t hanging from their waists – like the extensive training that has qualified them to become police officers in the first place. To better … Read more
March is National Criminal Justice Month. When we think about mental health and the criminal justice system, we may conjure up images of prisons overflowing with people in need of mental health or addiction care, or negative – even fatal – interactions between police and people experiencing mental illness. But thanks to increased awareness, advocacy and … Read more
This piece was originally published on The Hill. Read the original article. Approximately 10 percent of police calls involve a person with mental illness, making police the nation’s de facto first responders to mental health crises. Despite being on the front lines, some officers do not have the training to recognize nor appropriately respond to a mental … Read more
In my 10 years as a corrections officer, I have witnessed many changes – the biggest of which has been our approach to responding to people who are incarcerated who have a mental health diagnosis. Stressful and challenging, working in the mental health unit of a state correctional institution is hard. Fortunately for everyone, Mental Health … Read more
Until four days ago, Cpl. Omar Delgado was lauded as a hero for being one of the first police officers to respond to the Pulse nightclub shooting in June 2016. Earlier this week, however, he was fired with no explanation as to why. He had only months to go before he would be entitled to … Read more
No one said this job was going to be easy. But if you asked me five years into my career, I’d tell you it was the best thing allowing me to live a full life, and protect and serve with strength and honor. I quickly learned that resilience was key – to expose my heart … Read more
Approximately one in 10 police calls involves a person with mental illness, making police the nation’s de facto first responders to mental health crises. Although police are on the front lines, they often do not have the training to recognize and appropriately respond when an emergency involves a mental health crisis. When police officers in … Read more
Maj. Jim Cleek, commander of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) Training Bureau, found out his son was living with bipolar disorder just before he took his first Youth Mental Health First Aid training class. The 5-step action plan he learned gave him confidence to assess, support and provide support to people affected by mental … Read more
If you haven’t read Part I of Sgt. Eric Weaver’s inspirational story, click here. In 2002, a fellow officer and close friend of mine completed suicide. Rather than continuing to work through my recovery in silence, I decided something needed to change. While his death was a tragedy, it was also a motivating force that … Read more
“If I don’t tell you something, I’m going to kill myself.” I said these words to my then-wife in the fall of 1995. I had been working for my police department for nine years and had been a police sergeant for the last three. I was the training coordinator for our SWAT team, as well … Read more
On a warm fall afternoon in Kansas Public School District #500, Officer Orlando Singleton takes a breather after helping another teenager through a mental health crisis. “We just got him calmed down,” Singleton shares before transporting the student to professional care. “We’re letting him de-escalate and breathe. He’ll ride with us to the care facility … Read more
In March 2016, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) launched the One Mind Campaign in response to the growing number and frequency of interactions between police and individuals with mental illness and substance use disorder, putting both officers and the community at risk. This campaign seeks to empower officers with training, model policies … Read more
The deadliest mass shooting in modern American history took place on the night of October 1, 2017, the most recent incident in an epidemic of violence across the nation. Whether you lived through the trauma yourself, are a relative of someone who did or witnessed the aftermath on the news or social media, it is … Read more
Charleena Lyles. Alfred Olango. James Hall. These are only three out of the countless people with mental illness who have died as a result of a confrontation with law enforcement. We are only aware of their names and stories because they were picked up by the media. But hundreds of other stories of people with … Read more
Last October, the International Association of Chiefs of Police launched the One Mind Campaign, which focuses on improving relationships between police and the mental health community and includes a commitment to train 100 percent of their agency’s sworn officers in Mental Health First Aid for Public Safety. To celebrate the one-year anniversary of the One Mind Campaign, and … Read more
“A Dickensian nightmare” is how the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania described the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections’ treatment of mentally ill inmates back in 2013. The advocacy nonprofit’s complaint stated that mentally ill inmate’s symptoms were exacerbated, then they were punished with still more jail time – often in solitary confinement. Following such scathing criticism, … Read more
When you put on a first responder uniform, you’re expected to be ”brave, strong and courageous – giving help and not asking for help,” said Jeff Dill, a retired firefighter. Corrections officers, police and firefighters are trained to recognize and deal with people with mental health and addiction disorders, but are ill prepared to respond … Read more
A father’s plea echoes the desperation of many families across the United States as they watch their loved ones, who are living with addictions and behavioral health issues, mired in the criminal justice system, when they should be receiving treatment services. (“My Daughter Needs Help, Not Jail: Mental Health, Addiction,” Hartford Courant, January 27, 2017). David Klau … Read more
When Desmond Phillip was shot and killed by two Chico, Calif., police officers, the city’s police department was not prepared to appropriately handle the situation. It might have been yet another tragic incident that could have been prevented, but community outcry and requests for more mental health crisis training for local law enforcement may change … Read more
In a nationwide survey of more than 2,000 first responders, 85 percent reported mental health symptoms. One-third reported clinical diagnoses of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While these numbers loom large, seven out of 10 of those surveyed claimed mental health services are rarely or never utilized by their organization with four out of … Read more
The dangers of law enforcement extend far beyond the streets. In fact, police officers are far more likely to suffer multiple health complications than their general workforce counterparts. News 8 Anchor Scott McDonnel takes a closer look at how Connecticut is making changes to protect the mental health of police officers. (“Protecting the mental health … Read more
The recent suicide of former NFL player Aaron Hernandez is only one of an upward trend in suicides of people in custody. Hernandez, who has been serving a life sentence since 2015, was found hanging in his cell on the morning of April 20, 2017, despite being placed on suicide watch. Too often, suicide watch … Read more
What would it take to keep not just criminal suspects safe but the police, too? Flagstaff is asking that question in the wake of the murder last month of Officer Tyler Stewart. He was just the second city officer to die in the line of duty — the first was 14 years earlier. But in … Read more
A new team that is designed to provide first responders when a member of the community experiences a mental health emergency was formed in Carroll County Friday afternoon. The Carroll County Crisis Intervention Team comprises law enforcement, public safety and corrections officers who have undergone special training to assist people in crisis. 11/22/2014 Link to … Read more
