Page 41 - October 2019 FOP

The auction at the CPF True Blue Event raises more than $100,000 each year to support Chicago Police Officers.
shows how true blue the Chicago business community has be- come. The event went from one title sponsor to nine this year, and Robak shared that he continually runs into people from companies that want to get involved and support the Chicago Police Department but don’t know how.
One of those people is Sara Schroeder, an associate with the Sotos Law Firm in Chicago. Her firm represents active and re- tired Chicago Police Officers who get named in lawsuits stem- ming from overturned convictions.
Schroeder has a true blue interest in the police. Her father is a Toledo, Ohio chief. Her brother is a detective in Toledo. And
her husband is former Chicago Police Officer Michael San- dusky, who retired from the job to become an attorney.
Schroeder became interested in the Foundation when talking with Robak last year after another department officer was lost to a suicide. She wanted to help provide the tools to help officers improve their mental health, and that’s why she came on board. Schroeder is one of six new CPF board mem- bers who sees the value of the police coming together with the business community and the city.
“When you have all three come together as a team, you have a chance to do things on a grander scale,” Schroeder submit- ted. “I think we can make a more significant impact, a really life-changing impact. I feel, too, that the Foundation is not just looking at the department as a whole, but also looking at the individual officers. I think we can be there for them to help them do their jobs safer and make it a better experience.”
Life on the job, and on the street, certainly has been better with the increased use of LEMAR kits. Berkowitz recalled how his team was deployed during Labor Day weekend, as part of increased details, and wound up applying LEMAR to a stab- bing victim. He also said he received an email from a Chicago firefighter who used LEMAR twice in one night on two sepa- rate runs.
He credits the CPF for stepping up to get the program going. And that is the foundation of what the Chicago Police Founda- tion has intended all along.
“It’s taken a couple of years for everybody to get behind what we’re doing, but I think people see the value now and want to get behind it,” Robak declared. “The Chicago Police Depart- ment needs resources to achieve its mission and they see the Foundation as a way to achieve what they want to achieve.”
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Stress Management for Chicago Police Officers
Hartgrove Behavioral Health System provides a monthly stress management workshop for the Chicago Police Depart- ment. The purpose of this workshop is to prevent burnout and promote social emotional wellbeing by having attendees learn to:
• Define and understand signs of stress
• Identify different sources of stress
• Practice techniques to cope with stress
For more information or to register for the Stress Management seminar, contact Chicago FOP Lodge 7 at 312-733-7776.
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ OCTOBER 2019 41