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Safety liaison focuses on mental health of law enforcement personnel

Herald Democrat - 8/9/2020

DURANT - A behavioral health public safety liaison with the Choctaw Nation has been made available to assist law enforcement personnel and the individuals they encounter on the job.

Mental health care is top issue among the Nation's public health initiatives.

In 2018, 172 police officers died nationally of suicide. That number increased to 228 in 2019.

"Sadly, Native Americans are 1.5 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts or die by suicide than other nationalities according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)," said Bryan Rowley, a licensed professional counselor.

"Many programs have been initiated to combat the rate of suicide in the Choctaw Nation communities over time. It is my honor to help support these efforts in new ways."

Rowley, formerly a ropes course facilitator for the Choctaw Nation residential substance abuse treatment programs, has experience as a police officer.

John Hobbs, Choctaw Nation's executive director of public safety, said the safety liaison program aims to "change the mindset and reduce the stigma [of mental health issues] within public safety."

Hobbs said officers "never know what they will encounter."

Among the objectives is to provide them with access to resources to get help at the root of an issue.

The first goal of the liaison is to assist in training and decompressing officers.

After only a few weeks of the position being put into place, officers have reportedly already sought assistance from Rowley, who believes in a following a problem-oriented approach.

"Many times the individuals in emotionally charged incidents such as domestic disputes and violent episodes have underlying issues, like substance abuse or a history of depression," he said.

Additional team members may be added to the program in the future so that it may be possible for a liaison to focus specifically on law enforcement personnel training and personal health, while another may assist officers in dealing with the public.

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