Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) said on average it receives 127 mental health calls per month.
It asked those who face issues to keep talking.
The DRPS Mental Health Support Unit (MHSU) combines a specially-trained officer with a nurse from Lakeridge Health Oshawa. This team has saved lives and offers immediate assistance to people in crisis.
But it is not only the public DRPS helps.
It has launched a new mental health app for police employees in Durham Region, which may spread to other emergency services across Canada.
The Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS) and Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences (Ontario Shores) launched the new DRPSupport app in celebration of Bell Let’s Talk Day an important event which shines the spotlight on the importance of mental health for everyone.
The development of the app began two years ago when Ontario Shores and the DRPS received a research grant from the Provincial Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development, as part of their Occupational Health, Safety and Prevention Innovation Program, said a DRPS statement.
The project is led by Psychologist Dr. Krystle Martin, a research scientist with Ontario Shores and DRPS members Holly Britton, Health Wellness and Safety Manager and Cst. Meghan Buckley, Peer Support and Wellness Coordinator. Students from Ontario Tech University were contracted, under the supervision of Dr. Pejman Mirza-Babaei, Associate Dean Industry Partnerships, Associate Professor of User Experience Research, Faculty of Business and IT, to help build the app that was transferred to DRPS.
The app brings together all mental health services and programs available to DRPS employees. The app will be installed on all employee smartphones, making access to important services just a few clicks away.
Once the app has been in the field for several months and fine-tuned, it may be available for other frontline emergency workers, the DRPS said.
“This new app really brings together all of the support programs and services we have made available to employees through our Mental Wellness Plan. Sometimes, as police officers, we keep things to ourselves – but that just doesn’t work and we want our members to know that they are never alone,” said Todd Rollauer, DRPS Interim Chief of Police.
“We are excited to launch this important tool that will benefit employees of the Durham Regional Police Service. Ontario Shores brings comprehensive mental health expertise and knowledge to support our community and we welcome this ongoing partnership with DRPS,” said Karim Mamdani, Ontario Shores President and CEO.
How many complaints does the DRPS/MHU receive based on the same grounds? Are any of these individuals offered lawyer or legal advice before interacting with these professionals?