Dallas County proclaims March 24–28 First Responder Wellness Week and spotlights behavioral‑health supports

The Dallas County Commissioners Court on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution declaring March 24–28, 2025, First Responder Wellness Week, citing the physical and mental toll of repeated critical incidents on law enforcement and other emergency personnel.

County Commissioner John Wiley Price introduced the resolution during the court session and urged public recognition of the stresses first responders face. “I just don't think we have a real appreciation for what you go through,” Price said as he described officers' repeated exposure to traumatic incidents and the county’s recent investments in behavioral‑health staff for the sheriff’s office.

The resolution text included statistics presented to the court: an industry estimate that law enforcement officers experience an average of about 188 critical incidents across a career, and a cited figure that first responders have a higher risk of post‑traumatic stress. The measure directs county officials to recognize the week and to emphasize wellness issues including sleep, fitness, nutrition, fatigue management and post‑traumatic stress.

Dr. Erica Schuiper, who identified herself as the sheriff's office psychologist, described the county's behavioral‑health work for detention staff and deputies. “I currently have 16 members on that [peer‑support] team who are detention officers, sworn sergeants, lieutenants, deputies, officers and administrative personnel,” Schuiper said, adding that those members provide peer support in addition to mental‑health services offered by the sheriff’s office. She said the peer team was created after county funding allowed the sheriff’s office to add a psychologist to staff.

Court members and sheriff’s office representatives discussed the county’s efforts during and after major incidents, including counseling that was made available after the 2016 sniper attack in downtown Dallas and broader counseling during the COVID‑19 response. Commissioners noted past county appropriations for mental‑health staff inside the jail and the sheriff’s request for continued staffing to meet demand.

The court formally adopted the resolution by voice vote; the clerk recorded the action as approved unanimously.

The discussion also included an announcement of an upcoming community mental‑health event referenced by a commissioner: a March 21 symposium at Mountain View College about navigating mental‑health services and the criminal‑justice system, organized in coordination with the city of Dallas and county partners.

Ending: County officials said the peer support team and in‑house psychologist are continuing programs intended to make it easier for deputies and detention staff to seek care, and the court directed staff to keep the Commissioners Court informed about staffing needs and program utilization.