Peer support aims to help first responders cope with job stress

Texarkana Arkansas Police Cpl. Shawna Yonts talks to a group of law enforcement and first responder family members during a recent peer support training session at Crossties Event Center. The purpose of the training is to provide peer support for officers who have stress from their jobs.
Submitted photo provided by TAPD
Texarkana Arkansas Police Cpl. Shawna Yonts talks to a group of law enforcement and first responder family members during a recent peer support training session at Crossties Event Center. The purpose of the training is to provide peer support for officers who have stress from their jobs. Submitted photo provided by TAPD

TEXARKANA - Never show weakness. Keep things to yourself. Don't take your work home with you.

The list of "rules" that law enforcement officers and other first responders have traditionally followed is a long one.

"For a lot of years, law enforcement was of the philosophy that you suck it up if something was bothering you. You have got to do your job and that was part of it. Nobody talked about mental health," said Texarkana Arkansas Police Cpl. Shawna Yonts.

"Talking about traumatic things you saw on the job was considered as a sign of weakness. We were not supposed to show weakness, to other cops or to the outside," Yonts said.

Yonts has been a police officer for 21 years and was a crime scene investigator for more than 12 of those years.

The stress of the job has helped Yonts, along with Texarkana Arkansas Police Department officer Scott Megason and former Bi-State communications manager Kelly O'Neill start the organization Ark-Tex Peer Support.

"Scott and I have both been through a lot of traumatic events because of our jobs. We were talking about how that before we retire, we wanted to see something change. And that was how this started," Yonts said.

Ark-Tex Peer Support is for any law enforcement officer, corrections officer, EMS, firefighter or dispatcher, who is interested in peer support. It's to help them process and deal with the stress, burnout, or trauma, that results from their jobs.

TAPD Chief Kristi Bennett has been very supportive of the peer support idea.

"She is very community oriented and believes our metal health will help us help the community," Yonts said.

The group focus will be Miller County, Arkansas, and Bowie, County Texas, but neighboring agencies are welcome.

Similar peer support groups are starting across both Arkansas and Texas.

"I was looking at classes for peer support and you can find them now when you Google it," Yonts said.

A training session helped prepare 23 TAPD officers to be peer support officers.

"We've been hindered a little bit because of COVID, we would like to see about 30 out of 80 officers eventually take the training," Yonts said.

One of the best things about peer support is that it can cross state lines and agencies.

"One of the biggest things that would make an officer reluctant to reach out to someone is the fear that it would get out that they were talking to someone," Yonts said. "So, in that case they could reach out for peer support from another agency or town. It does not have to stop with their agency."

Confidentially is a huge part of being a peer support officer. It is also a commitment and requires a person who is a good listener.

"Its a huge commitment when six people call you in one week. Carrying something like trauma is like carrying rocks in a backpack. Talking to six people is like rocks in six backpacks," Yonts said.

Since stress can also affect the officer's entire family as well, the TAPD Peer Support Team has held training for spouses and other family members.

The main objective of the support it to simply let an officer or first responder know they are not alone and they are not weak if they are struggling.

"We want them to know there is nothing wrong with the way you feel," Yonts said. "Personally, for me, there were things I would never talk about. I didn't know how bad it was getting until I hit my brick wall."

Anyone interested in receiving peer support or training to provide peer support can email [email protected] or [email protected] or visit the Ark-Tex peer support Facebook page.

"We will find somebody for them to talk to. Every time you speak it out loud, it takes some weight off of you," Yonts said.

Upcoming Events