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Date: 1/31/2023
EASTHAMPTON — The Easthampton Police Department received a mental health and wellness grant through the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) to address the mental health needs of police officers and city employees.
In 2022, The USDOJ launched the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act (LEMHWA) Program. This program is intended to improve the delivery of and access to mental health and wellness services for law enforcement through the implementation of peer support, training, family resources, suicide prevention, and other promising practices for wellness programs.
According to Detective Lieutenant Eric Alexander, Easthampton applied for the LEMHWA grant with the goal of hiring a licensed clinical social worker to address the mental health needs of police officers and city employees. The grant was approved for $167,000 over a two-year period, and Easthampton was only one of 42 applicants in the U.S. who were awarded.
“Police officers and city employees are best able to serve the needs of the community when their own mental health needs are being met,” said Alexander. “The clinician is able to address and respond to those needs and have the potential to directly impact how an officer or any other city employee responds to any member of the community.”
The new mental health and wellness coordinator position will be responsible for addressing and responding to the mental health needs of city employees. This individual will plan, coordinate, and implement a range of mental health and wellness activities for city employees and law enforcement personnel that aim to reduce symptoms of stress, vicarious trauma, and burnout.
According to Alexander, the coordinator will also be responsible for responding to critical incidents in the community as a co-responder with police and coordinating recovery-based supports in the aftermath of a critical incident.
This grant works in conjunction with another co-response grant where Clinical & Support Options (CSO) personnel rides with a uniformed officer for community mental health calls. The city started this program almost a year-and-a-half ago. The new coordinator position will not, however, have an effect on what the CSO does. “So far, since starting the programs with the co-responders, it’s been phenomenal,” said Alexander.
Emma Reilly, who also acted as the city’s co-responder for mental health calls in the past, will serve in this coordinator position.