Retired Detective Cliff Kime came and spoke to us about "SIX" a program he put together to mentor and help police officers.  While the police academy trains how to do the job, the part of how to keep their personal life together is ignored, and working odd shifts, the stress of the job, and missing birthdays, holidays etc can put a serious strain on a marriage.  On top of that police officers want to be strong for their family, and so don't share what's troubling them, and can often go on self destructive path.  There is still somewhat of a stigma of looking for professional help, as they don't want to risk being put on desk duty or their jobs.

 

Cliff's program provides an anonymous way for police to reach out and speak to other people who have been police officers for many years, so they understand the problems, but don't accept them as an excuse.  He does not take any funding from the 45 cities he works with, and does not report back to the departments.  Often times it is a case of talking an officer through the consequences of the choices they are currently making, and help them see that there is a better solution.