Horseplay: Police Department introduces horse therapy to support officers' mental health – Sippican Week

ROCHESTER — With cowboy boots and cowboy hats, some of the Rochester police department gathered at Clover Creek Farm next to Captain Bonney’s to kickoff the Blue Saddle Program’s first event on Tuesday, June 16. 
Rochester Police Chief Michael Assad started the Blue Saddle Foundation program with the assistance of Sergeant Catherine Connolly, Lieutenant Zacahry Dupere and the other department staff to support the mental health of officers. 
Assad began the program since he has always had a connection with horses saying they are his favorite animal. He said being with horses has always been his form of “therapy”. 
“There’s just something about a horse being a big and majestic kind of animal that you know you have to be careful around,” Assad said.
Wanting to help officers process trauma and have good mental health, Assad created the foundation so officers could relax by taking care of horses. Officers are able to brush, pet, feed and ride the horses. 
Assad explained that law enforcement must be healthy first so they can provide the best service to the community. 
“If our officers aren’t able to help themselves and cope with their own traumas, how are we supposed to be able to help the community with their own traumas if we can’t help ourselves first?” he said. 
Assad hopes the program will grow and serve other members of the southeastern Massachusetts law enforcement. 
He said it might even grow big enough to have firefighters and emergency medical service personnel involved too. 
Dupere said he came to the event to show law enforcement personnel it is okay to ask for help and there are many healthy ways to deal with personal trauma. 
“I think it’s just peaceful being near them,” Dupere said. “They’re big animals but they’re so docile that you can go up to them, pet them, brush them, feed them and you don’t really have to worry about getting hurt.”
Dupere said many officers struggle with mental health and dealth with it in harmful ways or end up committing suicide. 
“There’s a lot of things that we see as police officers that not a lot of other people see and are involved in so it’s nice to have an outlet,” Dupere said. 
For more information or to support the program visit bluesaddlefoundation.org.




View the discussion thread.

source