Peer-support program being developed to help law enforcement in East Pierce County

Through an interagency partnership, six Pierce County police departments have received a grant to improve mental health resources for each jurisdiction’s officers.

The grant, $60,000 awarded by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC), is intended to help the Bonney Lake, Buckley, Orting, Puyallup, Puyallup Tribal and Sumner police departments develop a collective peer support network.

Sumner deputy chief Andy McCurdy applied for the grant earlier this year. When he worked for the King County Sheriff’s Office, part of his responsibilities included supporting other officers through peer support after they experienced high intensity field incidents. When McCurdy was hired at the Sumner department, he noticed mental health resources were less accessible.

“In East Pierce County, there are a lot of smaller agencies that do a lot of work together,” McCurdy said. “But there was an area that showed it needed a little more organization, and that’s an area of wellness and peer support.”

McCurdy said two of his priorities for the grant are to contract mental health providers familiar with law enforcement and to train wellness and support officers within each partners’ police department. At an administrative level, he looks to teach East Pierce County decision makers, like police commanders, human resource designers and local elected officials, how mental health resources can improve officer well-being.

In addition to developing a program for the partner departments, McCurdy is outlining these steps into a mental health resource toolkit to share with other small departments across Washington.

WASPC projects and programs manager Jamie Weimer said that McCurdy’s toolkit idea was unique among grant applicants.

“They are really looking as part of their work to develop a curriculum for peer support certification that could be used at other agencies,” Weimer said. “So we’re very interested to see the work that this group is able to put together using those grant funds.”

According to a WASPC news release, the grant is part of the state Legislature’s $587,000 effort to establish a behavioral health, support and suicide-prevention program. The release states that the funds aim “to leverage access to mental health professionals, critical stress management and resiliency training.” According to McCurdy, his funds will last until at least July 2023.

Mental illness is one of the largest occupational hazards among police. First H.E.L.P., a non-profit that addresses mental health stigma among first responders, reported 177 suicides among U.S. law enforcement officers in 2021. The only cause of death that claimed more officer lives in the line of duty that year was COVID-19, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page website.

Peer-support networks have had mixed results at reducing mental illness among police. A 2019 study sponsored by the National Institute of Justice found that while these groups are common among law enforcement agencies, there is limited evidence that they reduce an officer’s mental illness or increase use of mental health services.

Despite the statistics, McCurdy is confident that well-developed, well-communicated peer-support services have positive impacts on police departments. When he or his coworkers sought help at the Kings County department, he noticed that they all seemed more satisfied with their work afterwards.

“I have had times when things like my sleep or my health have been compromised by the stressors on or off the job,” McCurdy said. “I have experienced for myself how much it helps to know what resources are out there and to know that the resources are culturally competent to understand my needs as a law enforcement officer.”