The NSW Police Force is showing their support for the ‘Lightning Bolt Stand Tall Convoy’ that’s making its way across the state to raise awareness about Post Traumatic Stress (PTS), NSW Police say.
The convoy launched its 12-day journey yesterday, when it began heading south from Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
It will continue to travel south through Tweed Heads today, before making its way through Coffs Harbour, Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong and Rooty Hill over the coming days.
The convoy will also attend the Goulburn Police Academy next Monday (20 June 2016), where a guest lecturer will address the student body to discuss PTS, its affects, and strategies to effectively manage stress in their day-to-day roles.
The convoy is comprised of multiple representatives from the Victorian and Queensland Emergency Services, as well as the Australian Defence Force.
As the convoy makes its way across the state, members from a number of NSW Police Force Local Area Commands will also join the group for a distance as they travel though their command footprint.
The convoy will hold a number of events along the way and aims to break down the existing stigma around mental health, and PTS in particular, by encouraging greater public awareness and most importantly, improved education.
It’s also raising funds along the way, with all money raised going toward PTS research, and treatment organisations across Australia.
Human Resources Commander, Assistant Commissioner Carlene York, said the NSW Police Force is proud to show its support for the convoy in raising awareness about this important issue.
"The ‘Stand Tall Convoy’ is an excellent opportunity to raise awareness about PTS so people feel comfortable coming forward and sharing their experiences," Assistant Commissioner York said.
"This initiative will assist in our efforts to remove the stigma around mental health, which is not helpful to the conversation; rather we want to encourage greater discussion and education, across the community.
"Our language must be that it is normal to be impacted by the work police do, it is normal to seek support when you are impacted, and with best practice support, it is normal to recover," Assistant Commissioner York said.
"The psychological well-being of our officers is always a priority and we’ve developed a number of initiatives to promote their ongoing health and safety.
"This initiative comes at a good time and compliments the rollout of our ‘Your Health First’ program which is specifically designed to improve mental well being and directly targets the issue of suicide prevention," Assistant Commissioner York said.
"We’ve also created a number of tailored programs that are specifically focused on preventing and supporting officers with psychological injuries."
Some of the other programs currently offered within the organisation include:
• The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available on a confidential basis to any staff member, sworn or unsworn, and their families, on a 24-hour basis.
• The Peer Support Program. This involves a program of 1200 trained officers who identify distressed officers with a view to referring the officer to the appropriate support service. There are trained Peer Support Officers across the state.
• Trauma Response program, which is also available 24-hours a day and provides on-site consultation with a psychologist who has expertise dealing with trauma.
• The WellCheck Program is a psychological risk-management tool to identify any officers at risk of developing a psychological illness as a result of their duties. This program also offers coping strategies to assist with managing the stressors of their respective jobs.
• The Chaplaincy program is available 24/7 for crisis intervention, with more than 100 chaplains across NSW ready to respond to incidents.
Assistant Commissioner York said training is also offered across the organisation on resilience and stress management.
"We’re focused on providing the best possible training for our officers, which is supported by other presentations we facilitate from external mental health experts," Assistant Commissioner York said.
"In addition, we’ve also developed the ‘Five Things’ booklet that’s been distributed to staff across the organisation and aims to address psychological resilience and well being.
"More can always be done however, and the NSW Police Force remains committed to examining the best possible research and literature that effectively supports our officers."
You can learn more about the convoy, including further details on the route and how to show your support, by visiting: http://thelightningbolt.org.au/
