The times they are a changing for police officers when it comes to easing the burden of dealing with the stressfull situations they encounter.

Brad McKay (far left) works with Badge of Life Canada.

The long time police officer now travels the country encouraging police services to provide peer support for officers.

He says North Bay has recognized the importance of officers having someone to talk to.

“The structure is here but people need to trust the entity and we need to increase the wellness system and the peer support system so that everybody has a place to go if they need it,” he says.

He says in the old days superiors didn’t want to hear from officers who were having difficulties but that’s all changing as the old guard moves out and the new guard comes in.

McKay says today changes are being made for the better.

“Now the resources are there. We know where to take people and we find the big void of people who are suffering and the resources can be filled with a very robust and structured peer support system,” McKay says.

Filed under: Brad McKay, peer support