Innovative resiliency: NYPD for Health and Wellness

The NYPD Health and Wellness Section was created in 2019 with the intention of providing both clinical and holistic resources to our members, uniformed and civilian, that may not only improve mental and physical well-being, but provide tools to cultivate a more resilient mindset.

Mark Wachter is a deputy inspector in the NYPD and has been on the job for 25 years. He oversees the Health and Wellness Section.

Aaron Lohman is a sergeant in the NYPD Health and Wellness Section. He is a 15-year NYPD veteran and is currently the peer support coordinator, coordinating the peer support program and running the Health and Wellness Social Media page on Instagram. He also provides fitness and nutrition guidance and counseling and personal training for all 55,000 members of the department, both uniform and civilian.

Frank Voce has been a police officer since 2015 and in 2018 went through an extremely hard time in his personal life. He is the founder of the nonprofit organization Reps for Responders. Earlier this year he became a member of the staff in the Health and Wellness Section of the NYPD.

To watch the full interview scan here to go to our YouTube channel

The BLUE Magazine: How do you go about looking out for your officers’ wellbeing?

Mark Wachter: We've got to watch out for their mental well-being, their emotional, their spiritual well-being, and even really after they retire from the job. And again, this job is extremely stressful. You know, what our officers see every day, the traumatic incidents that they respond to sometimes just really not a lot of time to process it. And then they go home and how do you explain an incident that was horrific and now you've got to go home and explain that to your loved ones, your children. So what we try to do here is reduce stigma. It's OK not to be OK.

Can you tell us a little bit about why the NYPD chose to come up with this unit? What changed?

Mark: Really what changed is 2019 was just a horrific year for the police department. We experienced 10 members who died by suicide that year, which was just a tragedy for everybody, for the department, their families, for the city. I mean these offices patrolled the streets and built a lot of bridges with the community. So in 2019, you know, we really looked at the practices of what we were doing and we really changed our focus. And it was about the employee.

There are a lot of people who want to work on mental health, but at the same time, don't know enough about it. What is your opinion on this?

Mark: Yeah. No, it's true. And I think a lot of it is teaming up. And what we do in the Health and Wellness section, it's not just about coming to us for help. What we do is we advocate and we advertise every other resource that does similar work because at the end of the day my concern is that you get help. And if you come to us and I say, maybe it would be a different avenue for you to get help, we will guide and navigate you to that.

Should an NYPD officer be scared to come forward to look for help? The reason why I ask this is because at the end of the day, we're all scared to lose our job.

Mark: It's a valid concern. Again, you know, should you be concerned? Yes, it's a fear. It's real. But what I try to do in the health and wellness section is to build that trust. And it takes time. It takes time to build that trust. But by bringing testimonials of people who have gone through the same experience are, yes, you can trust me, you can trust the health and wellness section here.

Aaron, tell us a little bit more about your background.

Sgt. Aaron Lohman I spent a majority of my career as a police officer in high-crime active units, where I made one of the biggest mistakes that I think police officers make is they make the entire job their complete identity. So I was always chasing the bad guy, not looking after myself. I got to a point where in 2010 they took my gun and shield from me because of an incident that happened at work. And it was like my whole entire world collapsed. You know, my identity was taken from me. It was at that point that I looked back. I was over 425 pounds. I was completely stressed out and I wanted to end my life. So I was left with this decision either fix myself, seek help, change my life or end it. So I chose to give in, to surrender myself and change everything about my life. So from that point on, I decided I was going to make my life the best life I could possibly make it. So I started by controlling what I could. Everything in this career just seems so out of control.

I was the type of person who would just constantly fight with everybody on social media about things you couldn't control, whether it was the news or the media or things like that. So I would begin focusing on some of those things that I could control like what went into my brain, what went into my body, and how I used my body. And through doing that, slowly but surely, I improved my mental health by improving my physical health. I've lost over 178 pounds, and nothing stresses me out anymore and nothing bothers me. I've learned to manage my stress. I've learned about resilience.

That's how I changed my life. But what I try to preach to people is find something that you love doing. If you like finger painting, go do that. Find therapy through that. Find therapy through seeking treatment through mental health, whatever it is that you find something you love outside of this job. Because this job takes so much from us and we dedicate so much to it that you have to find outlets outside this job. For me, it’s exercise and working out and I try to impart that on other people because that's what worked for me. And you know, there's a statistic that says, you know, 30 minutes a day decreases severe mental health issues by 25%. You know, and to me, looking at those numbers and look at what I went through, I'm living proof that that is true.

How many hours a week do you workout? What's your routine?

Aaron: About an hour and a half a day. But what I want to impart on people is like when I say that I workout a half hour, an hour and a half a day, that's something I do because I enjoy doing it. Nobody has to start out that way. And literally all I want others to do is start out by doing something three times a week, walking 20 minutes three times a week at a reasonable time. Because as much as fitness and nutrition is about calories and calories out of all this stuff, what it really comes down to is behavior modification and behavior modification and changing your mindset. Your attitude toward exercise and physical fitness is where we all fail. This is why it's so hard. So when you fit it in, in a realistic time frame and you start making it a habit after a certain time period, it becomes second nature. And that's when you build on that.

Aaron, so before you said that when you were not in such a good place, you gave a lot of your time to being a police officer. And now that you're not giving so much time and you're in a better place mentally and physically, does that change? Does it not make you the best cop?

Aaron: I can't speak for anybody else's scenario, but for me personally, when I was giving so much time to being a cop, you think at the time that you're being a good cop because you're putting in those hours and because you're putting in that time. But if you're not taking those breaks and pausing and self reflecting, you're pouring from an empty cup and you cannot be the best police officer or best person or best family man you can be.

Frank, so tell us a little bit about yourself.

Frank Voce: Before I even say anything, I just want to shake Aaron's hand and say thank you for sharing your story and being honest, because that right there is what this whole department and unit is about. I actually left the NYPD and went to a different department. I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and alcohol use disorder in 2018.

I came back to this job, New York City, because I love being a New York City police officer. I enjoy working in a busy command. But there's also a lot of life experience and things that weren't, I would say, addressed, you know, and police officers have to know also that there's a lot of things that happen in our life. So I said, what could I do to make sure no one ever has to go through what I went through? So I ended up starting a nonprofit. And my goal is to increase the emotional and physical survivability skills of first responders so they can make more responsible choices while they're working or at home.

What would you say to an officer right now who's contemplating suicide?

Mark: What I would say, you know what? A lot of people have been where you are. Come forward, call the health and wellness section. We will guide you where you need to go. And again, it could be our services, it could be other department services, it could be outside resources. But we are here to help you. Don't let the current moment turn into a tragedy. We can make it better. We will walk that journey with you.

Aaron and Frank, what are your hopes for the future for this wellness unit?

Aaron: My hope is just to get the word out, to encourage people, to let people know that what I went through and my story and let them know that they're not alone and they don't have to be alone, that a lot of people are going through what they're going through. And I hope that we just continue to break down those walls of stigma and get more people help through whatever means necessary.

Frank: My hope for the future in the health and wellness section is that more officers see and hear the different stories. And I hope more officers actually come forward and share their own personal story like I did and Aaron did. It goes back to saying, wow, you know, similar experience like me. Now you've got cops coming to you saying they might not even say anything to you about needing help but thank you. You know, we hear you. We understand you. And that is how one helps me stay sober. It helps me stay clean. This is the best thing that has ever happened to me. There's no greater feeling than helping another cop help themselves.

Mark, what are you most proud of in this division?

Mark: In this division, you know what? I'm blessed. I work with some of the most talented people. All the people who work for me are dedicated. They pick up the phone 24/7 and they walk the journey. And that's the great part of being the CEO of this unit. Yes, I can come here and talk about it all day, but the real work is not done by me. It's done by the people who come to work every day. And you see it. They care for people.

Catherine Angel is an active law enforcement officer in the state of New Jersey and journalist for The Blue Magazine.