INDIANAPOLIS — A new app is now at the fingertips of Indianapolis Metropolitan Police officers.
The Shield wellness app lets officers do self-check-ins and schedule free counseling sessions.
It's a tool aimed at breaking down the stigma around seeking help for mental health.
Officer Dominic Smith works the bike unit downtown. He spends a lot of time interacting with the unhoused population with whom he has built friendships with.
"It makes them easier to work with because they already know who you are, but they know you're nice to them, so they're more subject to cooperate with you when they know who you are," he said.
Officer Smith has been with IMPD since 2011 and, like many other officers, has seen a lot.
"It's tough, man. It's not an easy job. You have to separate your emotions from the job because we spend a lot of time going through the same runs over. And you still have to use your best judgment, still have to make the right decisions in the moment," said Officer Smith.
Some days are worse than others, making it difficult to leave work at the door.
"Some of these issues these people are going through, you're going through it too, so you have to find a balance in there," said Officer Smith.
Chief Chris Bailey said the department has to change the culture surrounding mental health.
"They see more than anyone else in a short period of time, and they live with the trauma, unfortunately, that they experience over a 20, 25 or 30-year career," said Chief Bailey. "Then sometimes officers end up dying 15 years average, less than the average American."
Now, there's an app that can provide direct access to services for officers. It's called the Shield app.
Concerns officers can choose to address include:
- Stress
- Anxiety
- Depression
- PTSD
- Substance abuse
- Sleep
- Financial wellness
Users are asked to answer 10 to 12 questions. Based on the responses, it'll give a score and information for next steps.
Services are in partnership with ProTeam Tactical Performance and ProTeam Wellness.
"The thing about mental and behavioral health injuries is you don't know sometimes when you're having symptoms or having a problem, so that's why we created the Shield app," said co-founder Jim Sorgi.
Sorgi said he and his business partners were provided with the best tools and resources while they were professional athletes.
"One thing you get at that level of athletics is the red carpet treatment all the resources, all the tools that you need to be at your very best," Sorgi said.
They want to bring those tools and resources to those who serve and protect the community.
"Our goal, our job, our mission is to provide public safety, with the same resources we were given as professional athletes for them to be at their best not only when they're on the clock at work but to be at their best when they're at home with their families," said Sorgi.
Services are separate from the city's employee assistance program (EAP) and are completely anonymous.
"I don't know anything about it," said Chief Bailey. "I get aggregate numbers, about, you have this many officers that signed up for the app, 20% of them are having sleeping issues, 20% are having issues related to depression, etc."
Chief Bailey believes the app is an asset to IMPD.
"It tells us what we need to do to provide more services, more training we can provide, what kind of interventions we can do to help if we have that many people suffering from sleep disorders or whatever the issue may be," he said.
Chief Bailey says this is just another resource available to IMPD officers.
"This isn't taking over for our wellness unit. This is just another way for our officers to get the help they need because there's still a stigma attached to it," Chief Bailey said. "We need to break that stigma, but in order to do that, we need to make sure that the officers and professional staff know it's safe to use these things and they're not gonna lose their job if they reach out for help because I want them healthy."
Data will be tracked for training purposes without revealing any personal information.
