Resiliency Support Program

POPPA’s relationship with the NYPD has provided unparalleled access to NYPD officers and facilities and enabled POPPA to offer support to active-duty NYPD officers of all ranks.  The foundation of our educational initiatives has been POPPA’s Resiliency Support Program (RSP).  This program was pilot-tested in 2017 with groups of active-duty NYPD officers.  In 2019, POPPA presented its Resiliency Support Program to approximately 20,000 police officers in large group format at various NYPD target ranges throughout the City.  RSP presentations consisted of a brief overview of POPPA, information on managing stress, information on mental health issues including signs of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, rates, risks and warning signs of suicidality within the law enforcement community, and self-care strategies.  All participants were provided with printed materials and wallet-sized cards with the toll-free POPPA Helpline phone number for ready access.

Following the large-group presentations, smaller groups of officers were randomly selected.  The smaller groups were conducted by 2 POPPA Peer Support Officers and 1 clinician.  During these smaller presentations, officers could openly discuss events that were troubling in their personal and professional lives, aspects of their lives that brought joy and satisfaction, and identified their current self-care strategies or plans to implement self-care to bolster resiliency. Anonymous feedback from thousands of participants was excellent with the vast majority reporting that the topics and the information were extremely helpful.  Officers reported feeling very comfortable with the small group format and urged that the program be continued and offered to every officer annually.

POPPA consistently redesigns, expands, and refines its services to meet the needs of the officers it serves. The Resiliency Support Program has been expanded and refined into the Suicide Awareness for Emergency Responders (S.A.F.E.R.) program.