ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Police departments are finding new ways to support their officers, who are facing rising rates of stress and burnout.
When you hear that police siren and see those flashing red and blue lights, you know officers are responding to an emergency.
They never know what they’ll face.
“A traumatic event, a major car crash, fatality car crash,” said Lieutenant Eric Perra with the Ashwaubenon Public Safety Department.
Sometimes, it’s overwhelming.
“It’s that compounded trauma that adds up over the years that we’re trying to help them deal with,” Perra said.
Three years ago, Perra helped implement a peer support program that assists officers in learning positive ways to recognize and cope with the challenges of their job. Sometimes, it’s as simple as a conversation.
“I got involved because I wanted to help and I saw a need for it myself,” said Perra. “If someone’s struggling a little bit, they can go to any peer support officer. They can just talk to them. We can sit down and chat.”
That’s the starting point. If needed, officers can also be referred to counselors or other professionals in the community.
Now we realize that we need mental health. We need the help for our officers to stay healthy, so they can continue to help the community in a healthy manner, and it’s been going fantastic.
It’s been going so well that the program is expanding. It’s now available to officers’ spouses, and there’s an effort to include children, as well. Recently, they’ve added a chaplain to the program.
“He comes in and everyone smiles,” Perra said.
He said a lot of officers seem happier on the job, thanks to the peer support program and an increased awareness of the importance of mental health.
“Even just that little one-on-one conversation with them can boost their morale. Just knowing that somebody cares for them, what they’re thinking, how their feeling,” Perra said. “Myself and the other peer support officers have noticed a difference in morale… People come talk to us. They’re not afraid to come talk to us.”
Which is good for the officers, the department and the community.
Other police department across Northeast Wisconsin have had success with similar peer support programs, including the Brown County Sheriff’s Office.
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