Shattering the stigma
Retired Peel police officer sends mental health support to first responders through Boots on the Ground, a 24-7, completely confidential peer-support group and phone line
When Dave McLennan became a police officer in the 1980s, no one talked about the toll the job can take on the mind. Unacknowledged and dismissed as part of the job was the impact of processing a homicide scene, or responding to a fatal car accident, or investigating child sex abuse cases — or anything else a shift could send their way.
Though few officers knew terminology such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), some were clearly experiencing a mental health issue, he said.
“Anything from alcohol abuse, divorces, suicides, suicide attempts, people getting in trouble when it was completely out of character for them,” said McLennan, 52, who retired from the Peel Regional Police Service last year. “I saw people who were obviously suffering.”
McLennan’s three decades on the force have seen a shift in the approach Canadian police services take to mental health.
This summer, Ontario Provincial Police Association president Rob Jamieson sent a candid letter to the union’s thousands of members, imploring them to seek mental health help if they needed it, in the wake of a string of
suicides within the OPP. He revealed that he, too, had experienced “extreme trauma” as a result of the job and had needed to step away.
And yet, some police officers and other first responders are still not seeking help when they need it, a problem McLennan decided to tackle as a postretirement passion project. In November, McLennan launched Boots on the Ground, a 24-7 peer-support group and phone line that’s confidential, staffed by 70 current and retired police officers.
The volunteers, who have been trained in peer support and suicide prevention, will lend a listening ear, referral services to professional resources and more to any police officer, paramedic, firefighter or corrections worker within Ontario. Every volunteer has either personal history with a mental health issue, or direct experience helping others in crisis.
The program is meant to address the reality that, even with employers offering supports, some first responders are not going to use them — they still feel there’s too much risk and stigma attached. A common concern McLennan has heard from officers is that they are reluctant to confide in a fellow cop working within the service’s mental health peer support program in case they are, down the line, sent out to a call with that person.
“They know your whole life history,” McLennan said. “Or, they could (later) be on your promotional board or they could be your supervisor.”
In the two years McLennan worked to get the program off the ground, he consulted with both professionals — the program is supervised by a psychologist — and people diagnosed with PTSD and other mental health challenges. High on the list of sought-after services was the ability to just go for coffee with someone who understands the stresses of the job. For now, the group is offering in-person peer support within the GTA, though McLennan is hoping to expand across the province. They also hope to widen the scope of volunteers beyond police officers to other first responders.