The Stars of HBO'S ERNIE & JOE: CRISIS COPS Share Insights About Mental Health Stigma, Wellness, and Compassion

This conference workshop presentation features San Antonio, Texas Police Officer Ernie Stevens (Ret.) and former San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) Officer Joe Smarro discussing their own personal journeys as key members of SAPD's Mental Health Unit, in which they responded compassionately to those in crisis, de-escalated situations, diverted individuals from jail, worked closely with San Antonio's behavioral health community, and saved lives. Both speakers share their own strategies for self-care and how their own wellness has influenced the way they respond to those in crisis. Joe shares his own mental health story and discusses how and why law enforcement must de-stigmatize seeking help for mental illness and trauma not only within communities, but in law enforcement agencies as well. Officers whose wellness and self-care are taken into account and addressed, Joe and Ernie remind viewers, will not only be happier, healthier, more productive human beings, but they will be better prepared to respond humanely and non-violently to a community member who may be in crisis. The two also share anecdotes of what it was like to be the subjects of the HBO film and how ERNIE & JOE is now being used across the country to improve police-community relations, create improved outcomes for those in a mental health crisis, and raise awareness about the importance of officer wellness.