Mental Health

• To date, there have been 12 Deputies trained in Crisis Intervention, and that same training will continue during my watch, to continue to provide the most current and empathetic driven practices to those individuals who require such an approach. All Deputies have already participated in Mental Health Awareness and De-escalation training.  This practice will continue on a regular basis.  

• Recently, I have initiated training with the supervisory staff to ensure that deputies are supplied alternative professional resources for deployment in the field.  That training included the Open Access Center of Wayne County, which is making progress in its mission to assist with those who need Crisis Intervention Care.  
  
  
• I will work with the director of Mental Health and the Behavioral Health Network to encourage all of our stakeholders to see that those that are in need get directed to the appropriate resources.

There is also discussion concerning the mental well-being of your public servants. We need to encourage a 'My Brother's Keeper' philosophy; a culture where public servants not only watch out for each other physically, but emotionally, and practice their ‘duty to intervene,’ keeping each other on the straight and narrow.  

• The current programs employed by, and available to Sheriff's Office employees will be reinforced with supervisor and peer mentoring. Deputies witness many traumatic events in their careers, and they need to know that they have support in place when they are experiencing difficulties in any aspect of their lives. Our employee support includes assistance with all aspects of life so that they can meet personal and professional needs, affording them ways of coping with the stresses of being a public safety officer.  Services offered include stress management, physical and mental wellness, financial, family and personal counseling.  We will maintain those programs for our men and women so that they have the opportunity to be the best that they can be.   
  
  
• Peer mentoring will emphasize the vested interest that each officer has in creating such relationships within the community they serve. This interaction also affords us the opportunity to emphasize our day-to-day mission, which includes safeguarding our county, its citizens and all that pass through or are employed within it.  The end result, as I outline, will be to foster a togetherness culture between the public and the Wayne County Sheriff's Office.