I was dying inside...
For the longest time, policing was my life. I loved my job, and I was good at it. Every one of my bosses knew I could be relied on to get any job done.
But there was one thing they didn’t know.
I was dying inside.
In a very short time period I was involved in the 1 October massacre, involved in an OIS, my father died of cancer, and I lost my brother to suicide.
I was an excellent employee through all of that. However, I really needed help, but I wasn’t in a place to seek that help on my own.
Many agencies have an early warning software or program, but miss the mark by not taking an officers wellness into account.
In our blog post yesterday, Jenna talks about the importance of tracking wellness in an early intervention program. Most of the time, officers that are engaging in misconduct ALSO have wellness issues present; whether that be addiction, divorce, death of a family member etc.
Even though i wasn’t engaging in misconduct, if there was a wellness focused early intervention program in place at the time, it may have identified me as an officer that needed resources.
I could have gotten the help I needed before my mole hill turned into a mountain.
Thankfully, I eventually got the help I needed on my own, and I am still on a path to heal.
Does your agency have an early intervention program? Is it effective?