With 14 years of experience in the corrections industry, plus family in the field, Kristen Thompson has a bead on what goes on inside correctional facilities. Thompson, who is a … Read more
Public Safety
A staggering 90% of police officers surveyed reported stigma as a barrier to seeking mental health help. Some of that stigma stems from what they, and other people in public … Read more
What we say and do in response to the signs and symptoms of a mental health or substance use challenge can have a tremendous impact on the perceptions, actions and … Read more
Deputy sheriff. Army veteran. Crisis intervention specialist. Hostage negotiator. These titles paint a picture of the multitude of trainings I’ve taken and certifications I’ve earned throughout my career, but I … Read more
Police officers are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, faced with enforcing the law while potentially confronting the coronavirus. Although in some places crime rates are dropping because of … Read more
Peer pressure in schools. Stress in the workplace. Negative memories you can’t let go of. Everyone faces personal challenges and their own journey to recovery. One of the things that … Read more
This post originally appeared on the Capitol Connector blog. View the original post. On Tuesday, May 8th, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing hosted briefings on Capitol Hill to highlight … Read more
Our Cloud 911 family – family in the professional, I-love-working-with-these-people-sense – is made up of people living with private pain: the singular pain that stems from first-hand experience confronting the … Read more
Here in St. Louis County, we’re very proud of this statistic: On average, our police officers have had to use force in only 1 percent of cases involving an encounter … Read more
When we think of police officers, our minds may jump to the physical tools resting on their toolbelts: tasers, handguns, handcuffs. What we don’t often think of are the tools … Read more
March is National Criminal Justice Month. When we think about mental health and the criminal justice system, we may conjure up images of prisons overflowing with people in need of mental … Read more
This piece was originally published on The Hill. Read the original article. Approximately 10 percent of police calls involve a person with mental illness, making police the nation’s de facto first responders … Read more
In my 10 years as a corrections officer, I have witnessed many changes – the biggest of which has been our approach to responding to people who are incarcerated who have … Read more
Until four days ago, Cpl. Omar Delgado was lauded as a hero for being one of the first police officers to respond to the Pulse nightclub shooting in June 2016. … Read more
No one said this job was going to be easy. But if you asked me five years into my career, I’d tell you it was the best thing allowing me … Read more
Approximately one in 10 police calls involves a person with mental illness, making police the nation’s de facto first responders to mental health crises. Although police are on the front … Read more
Maj. Jim Cleek, commander of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) Training Bureau, found out his son was living with bipolar disorder just before he took his first Youth Mental … Read more
If you haven’t read Part I of Sgt. Eric Weaver’s inspirational story, click here. In 2002, a fellow officer and close friend of mine completed suicide. Rather than continuing to … Read more
“If I don’t tell you something, I’m going to kill myself.” I said these words to my then-wife in the fall of 1995. I had been working for my police … Read more
On a warm fall afternoon in Kansas Public School District #500, Officer Orlando Singleton takes a breather after helping another teenager through a mental health crisis. “We just got him … Read more
In March 2016, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) launched the One Mind Campaign in response to the growing number and frequency of interactions between police and individuals … Read more
The deadliest mass shooting in modern American history took place on the night of October 1, 2017, the most recent incident in an epidemic of violence across the nation. Whether … Read more
Charleena Lyles. Alfred Olango. James Hall. These are only three out of the countless people with mental illness who have died as a result of a confrontation with law enforcement. … Read more
Last October, the International Association of Chiefs of Police launched the One Mind Campaign, which focuses on improving relationships between police and the mental health community and includes a commitment to train 100 … Read more
“A Dickensian nightmare” is how the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania described the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections’ treatment of mentally ill inmates back in 2013. The advocacy nonprofit’s complaint stated … Read more
When you put on a first responder uniform, you’re expected to be ”brave, strong and courageous – giving help and not asking for help,” said Jeff Dill, a retired firefighter. … Read more
A father’s plea echoes the desperation of many families across the United States as they watch their loved ones, who are living with addictions and behavioral health issues, mired in … Read more
When Desmond Phillip was shot and killed by two Chico, Calif., police officers, the city’s police department was not prepared to appropriately handle the situation. It might have been yet … Read more
In a nationwide survey of more than 2,000 first responders, 85 percent reported mental health symptoms. One-third reported clinical diagnoses of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While these numbers … Read more
The dangers of law enforcement extend far beyond the streets. In fact, police officers are far more likely to suffer multiple health complications than their general workforce counterparts. News 8 … Read more
The recent suicide of former NFL player Aaron Hernandez is only one of an upward trend in suicides of people in custody. Hernandez, who has been serving a life sentence … Read more
What would it take to keep not just criminal suspects safe but the police, too? Flagstaff is asking that question in the wake of the murder last month of Officer … Read more
A new team that is designed to provide first responders when a member of the community experiences a mental health emergency was formed in Carroll County Friday afternoon. The Carroll … Read more
