Responders of pandemic & violent protests
the counseling available from the department.” Between March 19 and May 29, FDNY members took part in 3,077 counseling sessions with a licensed therapist, about a 25% jump from the same time last year, officials said.
In order to combat any future issues of posttraumatic stress disorder and postpandemic stress-related issues, unit peer counselors will be visiting each firehouse and Emergency Medical Service station to offer resources in the next coming weeks. Special attention will be focused on the 400 probationary firefighters and EMS workers who graduated as the pandemic ravaged the city, a department spokesman said.
In April, rookie FDNY EMT John Mondello, 23, fatally shot himself in Queens, authorities said. While he began his career during the pandemic, it was unclear if his suicide was linked to his work.
The NYPD has also begun a big advertising campaign showcasing its mental health resources. In the next few weeks, a cop won’t be able to close his locker or turn the ignition on his NYPD cruiser without being reminded of the Health and Wellness Section.
Stickers advertising the unit’s resources will be put on each locker throughout the department. Key fobs for all department vehicles already have the NYPD Health and Wellness numbers.
When the pandemic hit, the NYPD’s peer support and group support programs were still in place, but quickly moved to cyberspace, said the Health and Wellness Section’s Dr. Adria Adams.
“We have 50 people, both civilian and uniformed members, in these online groups on certain weeks, and sometimes we’ve had up to 100 people at a time,” she said. “It’s something we want to offer to give people the social support they need at a time like this.”
Adams agreed that the pandemic and civil unrest could create an
“evolving mental crisis” for cops and other first responders.
“We are flattening that curve in our department by providing the mental health resources and support they will need to take care of themselves,” she said. “If the symptoms continue into a more serious condition, we can handle that too.”
Killeen created Operation Longevity, a program designed to reduce stress in law enforcement that is being field-tested in the Port Authority Police Department academy.
Exercise like yoga and doing something as simple as one good deed a day can easily help reduce stress and prevent suicide or conflicts with the public, Killeen said.
“We can’t blame administration, the media or our community for the way we feel; we have to look into ourselves and change the way we perceive the world,” Killeen explained. “If someone does a random act of kindness a day than the chances of that person taking their own life diminishes exponentially.”