The need to support law enforcement officers’ holistic wellness given the stressful, if not downright traumatic nature of the job, is being recognized by more and more agencies and even the federal government. Some agencies have the capacity to implement wellness programs in response to this need. However, some might not have the resources to do so, or just do not know where to start. This session provides guidance on the critical elements to create a culture of wellness within any agency.
Leading the discussion is Wendy Hummel. Wendy retired at the rank of detective after her 24-year law enforcement career. She is currently the Health and Wellness Coordinator for the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office.
Specifics of the webinar include:
- Wendy’s professional experience and Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office’s organizational concerns that drove the realization on the value of wellness for the individual and the agency.
- Concerns that emphasize the need for a wellness program that looks at the staff’s physical, mental and emotional health, morale, retention and longevity within the job, the agency’s overall culture, and the team members’ families.
- What wellness is, challenges preventing law enforcement from fully integrating wellness efforts, and the different elements that must be taken into account for a truly comprehensive wellness program.
- How the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office started its wellness program by:
- Acknowledging the issue and creating a role for the person in charge of wellness
- Finding model programs and partners and leveraging the Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance (CRITAC) and the Federal Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) Grant as key resources for funding and implementation.
- Recognizing the nuances of wellness needs on the organizational and individual levels.
- Creating a peer support team and the policy and training required for it to function effectively.
- Using data – both existing external data and internally-generated ones to assist in securing buy-in and funding for the program as well as measuring the impact and success of the initiative.
- Other efforts done to advance wellness within the agency through resiliency training, collaborations with public safety partners, leveraging EAP services, vetting local therapists, sharing wellness best practices from other agencies, and embedding wellness into the culture starting with recruit training.
- Future plans for the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office wellness initiative that looks into:
- Augmenting the wellness unit through additional personnel dedicated to wellness.
- Building a family component so that family members get to understand the culture and the resources available should it be needed.
- Additional physical, mental, emotional, financial, and spiritual resources to support all potential wellness needs.
- A rundown of the building blocks of a comprehensive wellness program.
- Tips on how to ensure the success of wellness programs by:
- Obtaining buy-in, not looking to reinvent the wheel, and building a program plan during implementation.
- Identifying priorities and key people to lead and support the team.
- Leveraging available resources, institutional knowledge, and lessons learned in the past.
- Conducting training and consistent outreach to raise awareness and increase participation.
- Looking into potential barriers related to accessibility and confidentiality.
- Evaluating the efficacy and recognizing areas for improvement to further develop the program.
Topics raised in the Q&A are about:
- Mandating training when the workforce is already on forced overtime.
- Agencies that have dedicated wellness point persons.
- Needs assessment tool to assist with wellness program implementation.
- Organizations that the CRITAC supports.
- Providing wellness programs to those working in detention and corrections facilities.
- The impetus for creating an in-house therapist position and its tasks and responsibilities.
- Negotiating for additional visits with the EAP provider.
Other Webinars with this Presenter
- Feb 15: Coach or Critic: Implement Strategies to Overcome Negativity Bias and Limiting Beliefs
- April 7: Blueprint for Resilience: How to Reverse Engineer Burnout and Compassion Fatigue
- June 9: Creating a Culture of Wellness: Increase Retention, Morale and Employee Health by Infusing Wellness into Your Agency (this webinar)
Resources and Handouts
- Handout: Wellness Provider Vetting Guide
- Handout: Officer Health and Wellness – Agency Assessment Tool and Action Planning Roadmap
- Resources Mentioned: Certified First Responder Counsellor Program
- Resource Mentioned: Lighthouse Health and Wellness/Academy Hour
- Resource Mentioned: Cordico
Audience Comments
- “All of the information was so helpful and informative.” — ANA
- “As a department that has many of the separate elements of a wellness program, hearing about how to pull the elements together into a coordinated unit was very helpful.” — Daniel
- “Building blocks for wellness program–great stuff!” — Daryl
- “I appreciate the information on resources out there to help with peer support.” — Jennifer
- “Resources and steps to follow to create or revamp a wellness program.” — Kelly
- “I appreciate the explanation of feelings derived from stress and anxiety. This training has helped me to better understand my negative work environment and has provided some helpful suggestions and tools.” — Renee
- “All of the different pillars that contribute to our overall wellness (physical, mental, spiritual, and financial). Even though we deal with them all on a daily basis, I never thought about the fact that financial stress can also heavily weigh on a person.” — Tonisha
- “Loved the idea of bringing back retirees to help with peer support! Thanks!”– Tracey
- “I enjoyed the webinar and it had some great information. The most valuable thing I learned was the NEED for wellness at our agency.” — Celia
- “Wendy is the best!” — Brenda
- “This is a great topic and it’s nice to be able to reach out to other agencies that have already created programs so we do not have to re-invent everything. thank you.” — Jennifer
- “I learned a lot from this webinar that I had no information about before.” — Martha
- “The benefit of using our EAP. The possibility of having a non-denominational chaplain!!! LOVE THIS IDEA!! And finally, using our staff to assist with stress management.” — Anthony
- “This was such a great presentation!! Love the tips about tapping internal resources, and utilizing retirees that still want to be involved. Great presenter as well! Thank you, Wendy!” — Christine
- “The information that Wendy provided was FANTASTIC. As a coordinator of a new program that we are trying to get off the ground the resources she provided were very helpful. I would very much like to hear more of how her program is going at this point. Well done!” — Shannon
This webinar was pre-approved for 1 CEU credit by the National Advocate Credentialing Program (NACP)® and the DoD Sexual Assault Advocate Certification Program (D-SAACP). Founded in 1975, the National Organization for Victim Assistance (NOVA) is the oldest national victim assistance organization of its type in the United States and is the recognized leader in victim advocacy, education and credentialing. To learn more about NOVA, visit trynova.org.
