It’s OK to not be OK.And it’s OK to ask for help.
These are two messages empac emphasizes when working with Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office employees and other law enforcement officers and first responders.
“Empac has started to have a cultural change in our organization,” Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter says.
Counseling from empac’s licensed and certified staff is helping employees at the Sheriff’s Office open up.
“To get law enforcement to open up is very difficult,” Easter said. “The therapists at empac have been able to build that trust.”
Sheriff’s employees “have to thrive in everything they are a part of — especially home life. If they aren’t thriving at home, they aren’t going to be as productive,” Easter said, adding that staff needs to “have a family at home and family at the Sheriff’s Office.”
It’s important for the Sheriff’s Office, Easter said, “to be professional at all times, have compassion and integrity, and be there for people when they need us.”
Empac has done immeasurable work with the Sheriff’s Office to build trust.
“Law enforcement is a very distrusting environment because of what we do. Empac has worked hard to build that trust with our personnel,” Easter said.
He said it’s important to him — and the office and county — for employees to be happy.
“It is a very difficult job they are asked to do,” he said of deputies who work on patrol, at the jail, and in support roles. “We have to do our part at the Sheriff’s Office to create an environment they feel safe in and appreciated in, and hopefully that will carry on to home.”
The Sheriff’s Office is one of many organizations we work with to help employees thrive at work and home.
Our confidential program offers coaching, counseling, training, and critical incident stress debriefing to help staff work through and overcome challenges.
