The Badge of Life program, a nonprofit group established on January 1, 2008, introduced
a whole new concept into the world of police "suicide prevention" by daring to focus not "just" on suicidal officers,
but on all officers.
The idea sprang from the idea that, rather than simply waiting for officers to get into crisis and/or
become suicidal, it is far better to get them well established in good mental health practices--so they don't get into crisis
in the first place!
130 - 150 law enforcement officers commit suicide each year--a tragedy. Yet, say the members
of Badge of Life, for every suicide there are a thousand more officers who continue to work while suffering from the stress
and trauma of their experiences. They too need help. They, also, have the potential for becoming time bombs.
Key to the success of their program is what Badge of Life members call, "Annual Mental Health Checks."
They describe these as voluntary, confidential visits an officer is encouraged to make at least once a year, whether
anything is "wrong" or not, to review the year, check out how well he/she is handling stressors, and build on what is called
the quality of "resiliency," or "the ability to bounce back." In this way, they say, officers will be far better prepared
for trauma when it does occur and know more quickly when help is needed.
The group is enthusiastic. Everything they do is free, and they offer lectures and a variety
of videos and wirtten materials for the asking. They describe "a steady stream" of requests from across the country
for their lesson plans and videos.
In particular, they note that the US Army just announced a program equating mental health to physical
health and committing itself to a "prevention model aimed at the entire force, not only Soldiers and civilians in the
throes of a crisis." This, says the BOL team with undisguised excitement, is a sign of how quickly new ideas
can spread.
For more information about this new program, visit www.BadgeOfLife.com or call them at (916) 993-9939.
