Although many departments have good wellness programs, the great ones are few and far between. The purpose of this column is to help you identify supplementary resources. If you will remember, wellness is the interaction between the way you feel physically and emotionally and your social relationships, happiness at work and home and your living and working environment.
www.cophealth.com: This is a wonderfully informative site dealing with law enforcement stress, mortality risks and physical fitness.
www.policestress.org: Another site discussing stress management. This organization also provides a 24-hour stress management hotline.
www.affordablewellness.com/LE_EMS.html: A team of nutritional consultants, behavior analysts, mental health counselors and fitness instructors provide information about stress prevention, fitness, nutrition and relationship issues.
www.geocities.com/~halbrown: Hal Brown provides balanced information from his own knowledge and selected contributors about stress management for officers.
www.heavybadge.com/wives.htm; copswives.hypermart.net; www.policefamilies.com: These sites provide loads of understandable information about family/relationship stress in law enforcement. Police Families also includes a listing of some counselors that specialize in working with cops and their families.
www.leolinks.com/search/Admin_Support/Police_Family_Support/index.shtml This is an amazing collection of resources related to law enforcement families, spiritual wellness in law enforcement and general stress management information.
www.cooperinst.org/wtmgmt.asp Although this program is quite expensive, their approach, one of lifestyle change not just food restriction, is definitely worth considering.
www.eas.com/sportsspecific/publicsafety.asp?F=PS: This website requires that you have a basic understanding of fitness principles and methods, but will help tailor a workout for you.
www.policesupport.com: The National Police Support Network for law enforcement officers and their immediate families, including retirees provides comfort and support for Law Enforcement Officers and their families who must leave their state for medical reasons. They will be greeted at their destination by their counterparts. By having a centralized network containing hundreds of departments throughout the United States, we can pool our resources together.
www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/clefs_le.htm: specifically for departments that would like to try to improve their wellness program.
