Page 52 - March 2022

Real Women Wear Badges
She’s Always Listening
Growing up in a public service family led Christina Pena to make an impact as a police officer and peer support team leader
n BY DAN CAMPANA
At just 17 years old, Christina Pena jumped out of her moth- er’s car to rescue a young woman who had fallen on the North- west Side train tracks as a train approached.
Growing up with a police officer father and a mother who was a nurse, Pena recognized at that early age that she had the heart of a public servant. She just didn’t know which career path she’d follow.
“I thought to myself, ‘Maybe I should be a cop. Nah, I want to be a nurse,’” recalled Pena, who is a Peer Support team leader and works in the 25th District. “I was back and forth between the age of 17 and 19. Then I picked the police.”
After nearly 18 years on the job, Pena truly understands law enforcement wasn’t so much a choice as it was profes- sional destiny. Her journey has seen its bumps along the way — from showing up as the daughter of an officer who worked affairs to navigating the challenges of being a young woman in a male-dominated profession. But she’s used those experienc- es, not to mention an empathetic, thoughtful style, to help her brothers and sisters address their personal and professional struggles.
“It’s been a good fit for me. [Peer support] is something that’s voluntary, and I think it’s important because ... it gives us the opportunity to help officers who are looking for some sort of stress management,” Pena explained.
Pena started her career in 009 feeling a little stress of her own. She could see differences in how she was treated compared to her male peers and knew some were a “little cautious” about how they talked around her because her dad, Jose Pena, was in internal affairs. Her early days on the job overlapped briefly with her father’s 20-year CPD career.
“I had to prove myself, that I was going to do going to do what I have to do as a police officer. I was lucky enough to not be in the middle of anybody doing anything they shouldn’t be doing,” she detailed. “But I felt a little tension being a female officer be- cause there were a few males that were just a little inappropri- ate. I was single. I was young. I had a lot of people who would try to talk to me. It was just hard.”
Although she believes times have changed, improvements for her started once she shed her PPO status and fellow officers saw how good she was with people, especially those victimized or traumatized by an incident she worked. Her empathy, as well as a willingness to speak up about problems, drew colleagues to her, and any stigmas about being female or her dad’s position soon faded away.
Around 2009, Pena noticed information about a peer sup- port position. Figuring she liked people, enjoyed talking and considered herself a good listener, she nervously applied. Any
52 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MARCH 2022
Chicago Police Officer Christina Pena with her twin daughters, Jeilani and Keilani. worries Pena might have had back then about whether she’d fit the role have long since disappeared. Today, she visits roll calls, shares her cell number far and wide and does a lot of face-to-face meetings with a mis- sion to help anyone she can.
“Some people are skeptical of
us. Some people feel like if they tell
me something, I may tell some-
body else,” Pena explained. “Having
awareness in regard to peer support
may help other officers feel a little bit more at ease about com- ing to us. That’s why I tend to visit roll calls, make myself known. I tell them to call me 24/7, I don’t care what time it is, call me. If I can’t get out to you, I’ll find somebody who can.”