By Bill Carey
Police1
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Legislators in Washington state allocated $1 million in funds for a wellness app selected by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. The app is free to active and retired law enforcement officers, corrections officers, dispatchers and their families.
The app is provided by Cordico, a company that provides immediate, critical mental health resources to first responders in the palms of their hands. According to Richland PD commander Damon Jansen, interest in the Cordico app was coming from many different agencies across the state, YakTriNews reported.
“More and more, we’re recognizing the need for our officers to have this type of help and to focus on their wellness so that we can do our jobs the best that we can. And we come here, and we’re fit and we’re able to focus, and so the more and more research that’s done, the more and more help that we get, the more we realize, ‘Yeah, we really need this,’” said Jansen.
The Cordico app gives users immediate access to wellness techniques, suicide prevention, resilience, physical fitness, nutrition and other wellness support.
[LISTEN: Dr. David Black on how the Cordico app provides wellness support for cops]
“Being a first responder, we’re not superheroes, at all, right? We are normal human beings just like all of our neighbors and our friends that work in other industries,” said Kennewick sergeant Chris Littrell. “Being more intentional about putting mental and physical health disciplines in place is super important for us to be able to not just survive but thrive through a career in these fields.”
Littrell serves as one of his department’s peer support group counselors. He said that if an officer goes through a tough call, they can reach out to one of the trained group counselors. “We can come out, connect with that officer and coach them through stress management skills. That’s one of the tools that’s in the app – being able to reach out to a peer support person.”
The app is available for every agency in the state.
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