Chris Perry said he remembers the day a young police officer asked him for help. Not with an emergency call. Not with an unruly suspect. And not with something commonly associated with police work.
“He comes to me asking for a referral,” Perry said during the first day of the annual First Responder Brain & Body Health Symposium at the St. Elizabeth Training and Education Center in Erlanger earlier this month. “He says, ‘I saw something that really bothered me.’ I looked at him with tears in my eyes and he says, ‘Did I say something wrong?’ And I said, ‘No, you said everything right.’”
It is this kind of interaction that organizers with the Kentucky First Responder Peer Support Group and those associated with the two-day event hope will lead to improved overall wellness for first responders and their families. Among the themes of the May 7-8 event were the following:
- Overcome the stigma associated with mental health
- Have the courage to ask for help
- Be willing to help someone when they do ask for help
- Share your story
- Practice what you preach
Perry, a retired Amberley Village, Ohio, police officer who now works with senior citizens, and “Beyond the Uniform with the LT’s Daughter” podcast host Katherine Boyle were among several keynote speakers and breakout session presenters, several of whom serve Northern Kentucky communities.
Their session, “Sirens, Sacrifice & Childhood,” touched on the recurrent themes that have come to define this event, which for five years has drawn police officers, firefighters, highway patrol troopers, prison guards and law enforcement support staff from the Tri-State area.
“Put in the overtime at home,” said Boyle, who, along with Perry, shared anecdotes about their unique upbringings in a law enforcement-laden household. They followed the Law Enforcement Peer Panel, which kicked off the event and featured the following participants:
- Chief Brad Degenhardt, Lakeside Park-Crestview Hills Police
- Officer Amanda Armstrong, Lakeside Park-Crestview Hills Police
- Chief Lucas Cooper, Alexandria Police
- Chief Chad Martin, Wilder Police
- Trooper Julie Haas, Ohio Highway Patrol
- Trooper Paul Appleman, Ohio Highway Patrol
Accompanied by K9s Chance and Hope, they sat before attendees and addressed everything from changes in law enforcement to confronting mental health stigmas to overall challenges in improving overall first responder wellness.
“Tell your story,” Martin said. “Let people know you are the person in that organization that they can come to.”
Martin also advocated for patience in establishing top-to-bottom “buy-in.”
“Be transparent,” he said. “Break down that stigma within your organization, and you will have buy-in.”
Cooper echoed this sentiment, adding, “Buy-in from the top is really important. Find that person in an agency that makes the wheels turn.”
He also used an “oil-change analogy,” suggesting that proactively addressing mental health challenges is like preventive maintenance.
Of all the topics covered, arguably the one that garnered the most attention was the importance of open communication and the many ways all involved in first responder wellness play a vital role in this process.
“Twenty-one years ago, I was a good listener,” Appleman said. “If I respond now, there are clinicians present – and probably within 24 hours in Ohio, we can get you into a service if you need it.
“Being able to take a phone call or make a phone call to keep a first responder here – to get them to a professional – peer support is the first step for someone who is lost.”
In fact, Appleman and Haas touted the benefits of K9 therapy, emphasizing that those who have experienced trauma and are reluctant to discuss it might be more willing to interact with a therapy dog.
“People don’t always want to talk to people,” Haas said.
According to Science Direct, “First responders in emergency services are inherently exposed to potentially psychologically traumatic events, increasing their risk for PTSD, burnout, and work incapacity.” Addressing PTSD was another area of focus during the symposium, and Perry said that while he was diagnosed with PTSD, it is imperative to work toward PTG, or Post-Traumatic Growth.
The Kentucky Post-Critical Incident Seminar (PCIS) and the Ohio Aiding Safety Services with Incident Survival Techniques (Assist) are similar programs designed to help first responders cope with the psychological demands of response to a specific critical event or the accumulation of events.
Through interaction with mental health professionals, peer support, education and clinical interaction, first responders can safely address the barriers they are experiencing as they process trauma and try to return to a normal life.
And while officially established programs such as PCIS and Assist are valuable, several speakers emphasized the importance of everyday communication and the need to “check in” with co-workers day in and day out.
“The person sitting next to you on your shift may need it,” Haas said.
For more information about Kentucky First Responder Peer Support, visit their website at kyfrpst.org.
