Ulster Sheriff's Office touts launch of mental health unit for first responders – Daily Freeman

The Ulster County Law Enforcement Center, which houses the county jail and sheriff's office, is located at 380 Boulevard (State Route 32) in Kingston, New York.

KINGSTON, NY — Local officials touted the launch of the Ulster County Sheriff's Office's new Officer Wellness Unit, which will provide additional mental health resources to first responders starting Saturday, they said. officials announced at a news conference Friday.

The Ulster County Legislature voted unanimously in favor of the program on Tuesday, May 14, and the unit is scheduled to begin on Saturday, June 1. The approved legislation amends the Ulster County budget to include four new positions under the Wellness Unit.

Speakers at Friday's news conference at the Ulster County Law Enforcement Center affirmed the legislature's decision. Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa said he was proud of the new unit, adding that the sheriff's office previously lacked mental health services.

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“We've done so many different things to improve the criminal justice system, but there's one part we haven't focused on,” Figueroa said. “Today, thanks to our county legislature, our county executive’s office, the men and women of this office and all of our first responders who helped bring this project to fruition, we will focus on well-being.”

Figueroa said first responders need expanded mental health services because they often witness traumatic events that could impact their mental and emotional well-being. “We had the highest alcoholism rate, or one of the highest, and we have a high suicide rate,” Figueroa said. “We regularly witness the great ills of society, but there is no one to talk to about them.”

The bill was initiated by Ulster County Legislator and Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee Chairwoman Gina Hansut, R-Lloyd, who spoke Friday about the development of the welfare unit. be. Hansut said that when the legislation was designed, there was a full-time staff dedicated to mental health, with more than 4,000 first responders.

Hansut said after working with the Ulster County Sheriff's Office, a team was assembled and a resolution was unanimously passed by the Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee. The measure was unanimously passed by the Ways and Means Committee and then passed during the Legislature's session.

The new welfare unit will feature new roles, including a lieutenant, deputy and community outreach coordinator, according to Juanita Hotchkiss, Ulster County Sheriff's Office director of community and incarcerated services. The new roles, Hotchkiss said, are focused on a peer-to-peer approach.

“When we're in a peer-to-peer situation, you know when someone is struggling, you know when someone is having difficulty,” Hotchkiss said. “Getting this position in place is really critical and key.”

Also appointed will be a resource coordinator, a mental health professional, who Hotchkiss said will act as a “connector,” bridging the gap between first responders and community mental health services.

The cost of the new program is expected to be approximately $258,000 per year. However, Figueroa said he hopes to get state funding. “If you think about the cost of putting something like this in place, at the end of the day we save so many lives and so much money by taking care of the people who take care of all the ills in society, as do first responders on a regular basis,” he said.

Ulster County's first responders have already struggled with mental health issues. In February, a longtime employee of the sheriff's office died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the county's law enforcement center.

George Hill, coordinator of the Ulster County Sheriff's Office's Critical Incident Stress Management Team, said it's all too common. Hill said that on average, first responders experience 150 traumatic events in their lifetime. “It will impact their lives and the lives of their families,” Hill said.

“What we're trying to do with the wellness unit is take a proactive approach,” Hill added. “It's going to take a lot more manpower, it's going to take a lot more time, but it's something that is greatly needed for the first responder community and their families.”

Diane Pineiro-Zucker and Brian Hubert contributed to this report.