TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – May marks Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness of the issue and reduce mental health stigma.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, roughly 30% of first responders develop some kind of behavioral health condition like depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. That’s compared to 20% of the general population.
After two officers died by suicide in 2021 and another in 2022, TPD Chief Chad Kasmar created a wellness division to help officers with their mental health.
It consists of a team with a psychiatrist and also peer support sergeants. That group will go out to the scene of any critical incident, such as an officer-involved shooting, and offer support to anyone involved.
It doesn’t just include officers, those filing the reports, taking crime scene photos, and even witnesses.
TPD officers say the department has done a great job helping its officers deal with mental health issues and making sure they know it’s okay to say something when they aren’t feeling right.
”We’re seeing a lot on the job and then you’re going home and dealing with things,” Captain at the TPD Wellness Division Michelle Pickrom said. “And it’s not that we’re all suffering from trauma and it’s not that we’ve all got these things., but at different points in our lives, we face these things. I always say we all have a rainy day. We don’t know when the rainy day is coming, and we don’t know if it’s going to be a shower or a torrential downpour, but we want to have support in place for all of those things.”
To put some of what first responders deal with into perspective, the average person will see four to six traumatic events in their entire life. Meanwhile, an officer will see about 20 per year. That’s why something like a wellness division is so important.
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