According to the Centers for Disease Control, police officers across the country are more likely to commit suicide than die in the line of duty. This is a reality we must change. A newly expanded mental health program could improve the situation in Texas.
The Texas Blue Chip program allows police officers to redeem specially designed poker chips for free, confidential counseling or mental health services. The program began in North Texas and is being expanded statewide by the Dallas-based Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute and its partners.
Officers can use a physical or virtual chip to find participating providers without going through insurance or the Officer Health Program. Anonymity is important: Some officers may not seek help if others know about them.
If participants are near a brick-and-mortar provider, they can go in person, but telehealth services are also available, said Meadows Senior Vice President BJ Wagner, which is especially important in rural Texas, where there may not be a provider with the right experience.
Nineteen police officers died by suicide in Texas in 2022. According to the nonprofit organization Blue HELP, the number of deaths by suicide had remained in the mid-teens for the past three years. Last year, five police officers died by suicide in Texas. Although the number of suicides has decreased, we must remember that this is not about numbers, it is about loved ones, friends and colleagues. Losing even one is too many.
Local police implemented the Blue Chip program after the shooting at Allen Premium Outlets last year, and Allen Police Chief Steve Dye said it has been used well since then.
Gene Ellis, executive director of the Texas Association of Police Chiefs, spoke of a time when asking for help was seen as a sign of weakness among police officers, and he’s pleased to see that attitude changing as police chiefs tout programs like Blue Chip.
Each chip covers the cost of one visit. Private philanthropy covers those costs through the Texas Community Foundation and the Allen Assistance Fund, which has donated more than $175,000 to Blue Chip, according to the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute.
Wagner said the program also has state support through the Texas Law Enforcement Peer Network, a program that anonymously connects law enforcement officers with specially trained colleagues to help them work through stress, trauma and fatigue.
The Blue Chip Program is just one of many efforts undertaken with limited resources, but when police officers’ lives are on the line, every effort counts.
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