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Federal grant could bolster mental health resources for Cheyenne, Laramie County law enforcement

Wyoming Tribune-Eagle - 6/16/2021

Jun. 16—CHEYENNE — The Laramie County Sheriff's Department and the Cheyenne Police Department have applied for a federal grant that would provide more funding for mental health programs for employees.

The Laramie County Board of Commissioners approved the submission of the grant application during a Tuesday afternoon meeting. The application requested $98,530.50 from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services to "expand and implement" mental health initiatives for both departments.

These initiatives would include professional mental health services, overtime, peer support training and subscriptions to the Calm meditation app, according to the application. These new services would be available to both sworn law enforcement and civilian employees.

"Any additional funding that we can seek and gain is going to be extremely beneficial for a variety of reasons — for training, for equipment, but I think training would probably be the number one part of it, because it is so important for law enforcement to know how to deal with a wide variety of mental health issues," sheriff's department spokesperson Deputy Jeff Barnes said.

Current mental health and wellness programs within both the sheriff's department and CPD are "limited," the grant writers say.

"Like many agencies just getting started, we have a few simple practices in place such as an employee assistance program and chaplains," the application says. "We have basic peer support teams, but see this as an area we need to grow."

The strengthened mental health programs would aim to help prevent and address things like PTSD, substance abuse and suicide in officers, along with other, potentially less serious issues.

"The need for a comprehensive mental health program in law enforcement is essential to proper and successful" community policing, the grant writers continue. The application also mentions that, "with the civil unrest much of us are seeing," it is important to take care of the wellbeing of law enforcement.

If the departments receive the funding, they would immediately move forward in contracting with a mental health provider, establishing peer mentoring teams and alerting staff to the new resources available, according to the application. They also plan to track if the new and expanded programs are being utilized by employees, and if they are effective.

A memorandum of understanding between the two organizations says the sheriff's department would receive $38,625, CPD would receive $39,937.50 and the departments would share $19,968. The money would have to be spent within two years of when it is awarded.

Over a two-year period, 20 sheriff's deputies — from both patrol and detention — and 14 police officers would attend the 911 Overwatch Peer Support Academy in Berthoud, Colorado, a 40-hour course that trains officers in providing support and guidance to colleagues after a traumatic event, the application says.

Though Barnes said he did not know when the departments might hear back about the grant, when it comes to receiving these additional mental health resources, "the sooner, the better," he said.

Hannah Black is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's criminal justice reporter. She can be reached at hblack@wyomingnews.com or 307-633-3128. Follow her on Twitter at @hannahcblack.

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