Police peer support program seeing more members reaching out

THUNDER BAY — First responders often face traumatic and stressful situations that can leave a lasting impact on them and their families.

A peer support program at the Thunder Bay Police Service that has been running for more than 10 years is seeing increased use as more officers are reaching out to others for help.

“There are a large number of members reaching out, which is good because that’s what we want,” said Const. Jeff Elvish, the Peer Support and Service Wellness coordinator with the Thunder Bay Police Service.

“If someone has questions or is struggling and needs help, we want them to come forward and talk to us.”

Elvish provided an update on the peer support program to the Thunder Bay Police Services Board on Tuesday.

The Peer Support and Service Wellness Program at the Thunder Bay Police Service was launched in 2013.

According to Elvish’s report, in 2023, 575 sworn or civilian members of the police service were approached by someone on the peer support team, while 464 members approached the team.

The purpose of the peer support program is to provide members who may be struggling with someone to talk to and direct them to appropriate services.

“We are the ear to listen and, when we see issues, to direct them toward counsellors and psychologists,” Elvish said.

The majority of contacts to the peer support program within the police service in 2023 related to work and stress concerns, which accounted for 351 and 243 contacts, respectively.

While stressors can come from outside of work, first responders often face very traumatic situations, which can result in serious mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and lead to suicide.

“I always encourage our members to be very open when they are talking about any issues they may have,” Elvish said.

“For the first 25 years of my career, it was kind of the 'don’t say anything, you’re tough, you can handle this stuff,' and it’s not true. I am trying to get the message out that it’s okay to not be okay sometimes, and it’s important to talk about it.”

Elvish noted that when Chief Darcy Fleury took on the role in May 2023, the number of work-related peer support contacts dropped significantly.

“Senior leadership is huge. Without their support, we don’t have a program.

"A lot of our senior members are willing to speak with our members and come forward and support them,” Elvish said.

Elvish added that past administrations at the police service have been supportive but having someone from outside the organization hired on as chief has made a big difference.

“It has built a lot more trust to have somebody there,” he said.

“And Chief Fleury is very outgoing and very easy to talk to, and that makes a huge difference for our members to know that the chief is there to speak to, a very open-door policy.”

Fleury said everyone struggles at times, and it is important that members of the police service have somewhere to turn.

“I think having that support from someone who talks it and walks it, I think, is really important, and the membership responds to that,” he said.  

“I think the big thing about that is we have to be present and make sure people have to understand that at times when they are having a bit of difficulty that they have the support and that they feel like it’s okay to come forward and won’t be criticized or chastised.

"Having that support all around is really important to help them through the struggles.”

The peer support program has recently undergone a restructuring to focus on three pillars: member training in peer support, critical incident response, and reintegration training.

Fleury said having someone with an understanding of what a member might be going through is key to the program, especially when it comes to reintegrating someone back into work after dealing with difficult issues on the job.

“To have that important information and background to help them understand themselves and abilities they do have at certain points in their career,” he said.

“While keeping an eye on how they are doing, if it’s too much, or how to expand on their work duties, I think having that is really important.”

The Peer Support and Service Wellness program is partnering with the Wounded Warriors program, a national service that offers online counselling to first responders.

It is also partnering with Lakehead University, which is providing trained psychologists and working to develop a program to train psychologists to work with first responders.

Elvish said the peer support program also helps with assisting paramedics and firefighters who may be facing issues of stress on the job.

It goes beyond just assisting first responders, as family members can also struggle due to work-related stressors.

“I don’t think a lot of the members' families realize the effect being a police officer has on the families.

"The families come to work with us and struggle with us, and they see the changes. So it’s very important for us to get out there that we are here to help them,” Elvish said.

“The more people come and talk to us, the better I feel because it is showing what we are doing is working, the stigma is going away, and people are feeling comfortable coming and talking about what’s troubling them.”