Federal grant could bolster mental health resources for Cheyenne, Laramie County law enforcement
Wyoming Tribune-EagleJun 16, 2021
Jun. 16—CHEYENNE —
These initiatives would include professional mental health services, overtime, peer support training and subscriptions to the Calm meditation app, according to the application. These new services would be available to both sworn law enforcement and civilian employees.
"Any additional funding that we can seek and gain is going to be extremely beneficial for a variety of reasons — for training, for equipment, but I think training would probably be the number one part of it, because it is so important for law enforcement to know how to deal with a wide variety of mental health issues," sheriff's department spokesperson Deputy
Current mental health and wellness programs within both the sheriff's department and CPD are "limited," the grant writers say.
"Like many agencies just getting started, we have a few simple practices in place such as an employee assistance program and chaplains," the application says. "We have basic peer support teams, but see this as an area we need to grow."
The strengthened mental health programs would aim to help prevent and address things like PTSD, substance abuse and suicide in officers, along with other, potentially less serious issues.
"The need for a comprehensive mental health program in law enforcement is essential to proper and successful" community policing, the grant writers continue. The application also mentions that, "with the civil unrest much of us are seeing," it is important to take care of the wellbeing of law enforcement.
If the departments receive the funding, they would immediately move forward in contracting with a mental health provider, establishing peer mentoring teams and alerting staff to the new resources available, according to the application. They also plan to track if the new and expanded programs are being utilized by employees, and if they are effective.
A memorandum of understanding between the two organizations says the sheriff's department would receive
Over a two-year period, 20 sheriff's deputies — from both patrol and detention — and 14 police officers would attend the 911
Though Barnes said he did not know when the departments might hear back about the grant, when it comes to receiving these additional mental health resources, "the sooner, the better," he said.
___
(c)2021 Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, Wyo.)
Visit Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, Wyo.) at www.wyomingnews.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.