GREEN BAY, Wis. — Police officers often help others. Now, those officers are receiving help too, as police departments turn inward to provide support.
A group of wellness initiatives at the Green Bay Police Department are aimed at helping officers with their wellbeing. The initiatives range from physical and mental health to finances.
While the main goal is preventing suicides and keeping officers healthy, there are many more aspects to the program, said Lt. Erin Bloch, who is the department’s wellness coordinator.
“It’s a benefit for the community for us to be doing this. Well, officers are going to provide better services and they’re going to be more productive in the community,” she said. “We also have a major concern because we’re trying to prevent suicide. That’s our number one goal.”
One of the key tools is a recently launched app from Cordico that provides access to mental health self-assessments, along with guides and videos on nutrition and exercise.
It includes chaplain and crisis support contacts. A peer support team of colleagues is also accessible to help face-to-face when needed.
“What we do is provide peer-to-peer support, just like I’m talking to you, if somebody is struggling with anything,” Bloch said. “It can be an issue at home, it can be an issue with work and we try to give them an ear to vent. If it goes beyond that scope, then we give them proper referrals to resources in the community.”
Officer Chris Kuptz said the wellness aspect of the job sends a message from the department to its staff.
“It’s, ‘Hey, we want you. We want you to take care of yourself. We care about you, and we want you to know that as well. We have all these opportunities for you to take advantage of,’” he said. “It’s not just, ‘This is your job. Go do it and go home to your family afterwards.’”
The focus on wellness is something he said he’s proud to talk about.
“When I talk to new recruits, I just don’t let them know this is the job, this is how much we pay, you’re going to be doing all this cool stuff,” Kuptz said. “A lot of people like when they hear about the mental health aspect of it and how you can care for yourself and how you can care about loved ones and other officers.”
The department also offers staff an hour a week of on-duty wellness time in the department’s fitness room.
Bloch said wellness programs provide an outlet for the things officers and staff see on the job on a regular basis.
“When people call us, it typically isn’t because they’re having a great day, unfortunately. When we go out there, we’re seeing things where children are getting hurt or babies are hurt or maybe dying. We’re going to really bad scenes of car accidents or when people become violent with one another, that’s sort of what we’re seeing on a daily basis,” she said. “Whether you recognize it or not, cumulative stress is a thing. You can handle each scenario, but you really have to have good, healthy, coping skills and you have to be a realist person to keep going and be healthy throughout your career.”