New York State Sheriffs’ Association launches new health and wellness program
ALBANY, N.Y. » The New York State Sheriffs’ Association (NYSSA) is launching an innovative, statewide health and wellness program available to all 58 county sheriff’s offices in New York.
The new program comes as 177 first responders committed suicide last year nationally, and rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety among public safety and law enforcement personnel far exceed the rates of the general population.
“Public safety service often comes with great risk and personal sacrifice — and New York’s sheriff deputies, corrections officers, 9-1-1 dispatchers, and command staff are no different,” a press release about the program said. “While first responders are dedicated to protecting the public, they often carry their burdens and trauma silently.”
NYSSA and FirstNet — the only nationwide, highspeed broadband communications platform dedicated for America’s first responders and the extended public safety community — believe that all sheriffs personnel should have access to the support systems they need to help manage stress and cope with grief, depression, anger and other emotions that may stem from the stress of their jobs.
The new comprehensive health and wellness program, which has been a top priority for NYSSA in recent years, provides sheriff’s office staff with support and training to deal with onduty stressors and live a healthy and balanced life.
The program includes a four-part approach including: professional crisis and trauma employee trainings, new or improved employee assistance programs, a confidential peer-to-peer hotline available to all sheriff’s office employees statewide and a public service announcement campaign titled “It’s Ok to not be OK.”
Sheriff’s office personnel will receive training from some of New York’s most respected mental health law enforcement organizations, covering topics including assisting individuals and groups in crisis, advanced crisis intervention and critical incident stress management, trauma resources assistance, PTSD, suicide prevention and dealing with a fellow officer’s death. Family members of sheriff personnel will be encouraged to attend various trauma training sessions as applicable. The sheriff’s command staff will also receive specialized training such as Post-Critical Incident Seminar (PCIS) provided by NYLEAP. In addition, peer-based training will be offered by accredited clinical professionals to assist in healthy ways to cope with stress and manage PTSD, based on a wellrespected format developed by the FBI.
A special health and wellness training for all School Resource Officers who are members of NYSSA’s Committee on Policing and Safeguarding Schools (C-PASS) is also being created to respond to the increase in incidents of school violence. This training will ensure officers are better prepared and have the post-incident resources available. Trainings will be made available for School Resource Officers starting in early 2023.
NYSSA will provide all NYS Sheriff’s Offices the resources and training to establish new agency-based EAP programs or expand existing programs. Support will include in-person presentations, train-thetrainer sessions, and meetings with individual Sheriff’s Office personnel who will act as program leaders to implement a peer-based EAP program. NYSSA’s goal is for all Sheriff’s Offices to have their own dedicated EAP, connected through the New York Law Enforcement Assistance Program (NYLEAP) network.
The new EAP resources have been developed with the expertise of several organizations including NYLEAP, the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), and Individuals in Crisis and Group Crisis Intervention (ICISF). NYSSA/NYLEAP representatives will visit Sheriff’s Offices interested in establishing or enhancing EAP programs and offer easily accessible digital resources hosted on the association’s website. In addition, the program will include a pilot of a peer-to-peer hotline that all sheriff personnel and their families can use to anonymously discuss any issue they would like. Sheriff’s personnel from around the state will be trained to help staff the hotline, which will provide an early intervention program to keep stress from escalating into distress or worse.
In addition, NYSSA will establish a confidential peer-to-peer hotline staffed by deputy sheriffs and other personnel from around the state to provide early intervention and keep stress from escalating or manifesting.
Finally, a new PSA campaign will utilize videos and other digital and social platforms to communicate the key message for sheriffs’ office personnel: “It’s OK to not be OK.” The campaign will publicize the challenges first responders face every day, highlight the effect that their service to their community can have on their mental health, and raise awareness among sheriff personnel about the resources available. The PSA is designed to help those working in sheriff’s offices shed the “be tough and suck it up” persona, the release said, and accept the reality that it’s important to seek and receive assistance following a critical incident or traumatic experience.
The entire program, possible by financial and programming support from AT&T, has been developed over the past nine months under the leadership of current NYSSA President, Livingston County Sheriff Thomas Dougherty; PastPresident, Washington County Sheriff Jeff Murphy; NYSSA executive staff; professional law enforcement training organizations; and sheriff’s personnel from across the state.
“I am extremely proud of the New York State Sheriffs’ Association and our partnership FirstNet, Built with AT&T. This partnership has made it possible to provide the necessary resources to our members regarding their personal and professional wellness,” Dougherty said in the release. “The jobs of law enforcement are extremely difficult and the events that we deal with are much different than most jobs. These events can lead to long-term stored traumas that most first responders avoid talking about due to the past culture in the profession. The days of pretending that these events don’t have long-term effects on our physical health and our mental health are behind us. As the leaders in law enforcement, we are laser-focused on changing the culture and ending the stigma; we want our members to know that it is ‘okay to not be okay’; we are here for you and we have gathered the professional resources to help.”
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple, who is the NYSSA 2nd Vice President, added, “As law enforcement officers, our mental health is just as important as our physical health. Supporting first responder mental health starts with fighting stigma. Strength, bravery, and grit are highly valued — and employees often take on a ‘whatever it takes mentality. This perpetuates stigma around mental health conditions — based on the misconception that they’re a sign of weakness. Conversations about mental health are often swept under the rug or never stated. But the high rates of depression, PTSD, substance use disorder, and suicide make it clear that first responder mental health needs to be addressed early and often.”
Amy Kramer, President, AT&T New York said that AT&T and FirstNet are dedicated to supporting the health and wellness of the law enforcement and first responders across the country, and are extremely honored and proud to support this critical wellbeing initiative with NYSSA for all sheriff’s office personnel across the Empire State. “The rates of PTSD, depression, suicide and anxiety among other physical and mental ailments among public safety personnel far exceed the rates of the general population,” she said in the release, “and resources like this health and wellness program are needed to protect our first responder communities.”