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Elkhart chief outlines officer wellness work after national conference; peer support, chaplains and grants under review
Summary
Chief Dan Melanes said the department sent peer support, chaplains and social workers to an International Association of Chiefs of Police wellness conference and is pursuing grants and mentorships to address repeated critical incidents experienced by officers.
Chief Dan Melanes told the commission the department sent a team — peer support, chaplains and social workers — to the International Association of Chiefs of Police officer wellness conference to learn best practices for addressing officer mental health and resilience.
"This topic of this conference is officer wellness," Melanes said, adding that the department's peer support team is looking at grants, wellness programs and mentorships. He emphasized the high burden experienced by officers, saying a department of their size can encounter about "188 to 200 critical incidents in 20 years," and noting the cumulative impact on officers and their families.
Melanes said the department will seek programs and grant funding that could improve peer support and mentorship and that the team will report back to the department on lessons learned from the conference.
Commissioner Jean Mays and others praised the department's attention to wellness and urged continued emphasis on individual and family supports for officers.
