Page 38 - May2021

Going the distance for mental health
Son of longtime CPD officer runs ultramarathon to raise awareness for PTSD care and suicide prevention
Robert Swiderski honored his family
of longtime CPD officers by running an ultramarathon to raise awareness for suicide prevention and PTSD treatment.
n BY DAN CAMPANA
Robert Swiderski’s voice quivers mo- mentarily before he pauses to collect his thoughts.
The emotion of talking about police of- ficers, depression and suicide caught up with Swiderski, because he understands all of it all too well, just not in the way you’d expect. His father, Robert Sr., two uncles and a cousin are all retired CPD. And Swid- erski — who chose not to follow in the fam- ily business — struggled with depression in his 20s to the point where he almost ended his life.
“I’m the survivor of a suicide attempt,” he shared bluntly.
But that’s not the main reason Swiderski has become a champion for raising aware- ness about police officer PTSD, or what drives him to raise money to make more mental health resources available for cops.
“There has to be hundreds of our offi-
cers that need our help. They’re human just like us. They have feelings, they have emotions,” Swiderski said. “They run into danger to save our lives. We are running for them...to let them know they are cared for.”
Swiderski means that quite literally. An avid runner who has completed four Chicago marathons and numerous short- er-distance races, Swiderski competed in a 200-mile ultramarathon as part of his mission to bring attention to the staggering issue of PTSD and suicide in law enforce- ment.
On a challenging course amid ugly April weather on the Potawatomi Trail Run in Pekin, Swiderski completed 170 miles in 70 hours to finish eighth among 32 partici- pants. What kept him going was the people he wants to help.
“What I went through is nothing com- pared to what officers are going through every day,” he said. “I’m able to move my
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38 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MAY 2021