Page 35 - FOP August 2021

Make a
Mental Health Note
Lodge 7 continues to develop plans that will help members deal with the stress and anxiety of the job
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
After a 5 a.m. yoga fix, Lodge 7 First Vice President Mike Mette sets up in his FOP office and begins scrolling. Seminars, webi- nars, articles, videos, chats and
posts flash across his laptop as
Mette searches for pieces of in-
formation that can give members
some peace of mind as they bat-
tle the growing stress, anxiety and
other mental health inhibitors of
the job.
It’s a little after 6:30 now, and Mette has taken measures to deal with his own anxiety. The calls will start coming soon, and he won- ders if he can practice what he preaches to members about find- ing a few minutes to relax, even meditate.
Not too long ago, he received
a call from the spouse of a member, who confided that she had been noticing changes in her husband. She wanted to know if there was anything she could do to better understand what he was going through.
trying to be proactive and understand what’s going on. That’s what we want. We want the knowledge out there so people aren’t afraid to reach out and get ahead of it before it becomes a worst-
case scenario.”
Getting ahead of it will be the
charge for Mette as he goes head- first, full time into his role as Lodge 7’s newly ordained mental health liaison, facilitator, om- budsman, advocate or all of the above. As the field rep devoted to mental health and wellness that the Lodge compelled the City to fund, Mette wants to rally resourc- es: all the resources necessary to prevent the mental anguish and pain from building up well before it gets to the point a 24-year-old CPD officer must have felt on July 14 when he became the third
member in the Department to take his own life this year.
Mette will lead the Lodge 7 initiative to visit more roll calls to find out about officers’ needs, work with the Department’s
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“It was awesome that she reached out,” Mette extolled. “She’s
The psychological, physiological, social, emotional and spiritual changes officers are going through are unlike those in any other profession.
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