If you had told Darren Wright 10 years ago that he’d be an outspoken advocate for mental wellbeing in law enforcement and trained in Mental Health First Aid, he “would have laughed you off.” Wright, a Marine and a volunteer firefighter, had a 31 year-career as a state trooper in Washington. He described himself as “your hard-headed, nothing-can-hurt-me type.” Today, his outlook has changed.
As a public information officer for the Oro Valley, Arizona, Police Department, Wright spends his days helping others feel better and reducing stress alongside his partner Ari, a certified first responder therapy dog.
“I said, ‘OK, you’re going to pay me to take a dog to work every day and make people feel better? I could do that’,” Wright said.
Ari, who flunked out of K-9 drug detection school because she was more interested in people than drugs, was assigned to Wright and found her true calling as the Oro Valley Police Department’s wellness dog. First responders face a variety of high-stress situations on the job every day, and Ari is there to relieve some of that tension.
Although Wright and Ari’s primary responsibilities are to the police department employees, they also go out as a pair to the wider Oro Valley community. One frequent stop is the Oro Valley town government buildings, where Ari visits with employees like Mental Health First Aid Instructor Andrea Sirois. That led to Wright taking Mental Health First Aid.
“Andrea was doing a great job putting on the Mental Health First Aid classes,” Wright said. “I did a little research on it, and realized with what I’m doing, going around to people [with Ari], that would just be incredible. So I took the class, and Ari came with me because she goes pretty much everywhere I go.”
Wright and Ari are now regular visitors to Sirois’ MHFA trainings, when they get the chance. Wright introduces himself and the K9 Wellness Program, the new First Aiders get an impromptu puppy break, and Ari gets a lot of pets.
Wright points out that Ari’s job is not to solve problems or fix the people they visit, but to give them a little more happiness and comfort. Mental Health First Aid, he said, gave him perspective on his role as the other half of the team.
“The beauty of Mental Health First Aid training is that I’m more in tune with people when I visit them with the dog,” he said. “The dog’s purpose is to make them happy. My purpose should be to find out if they need deeper help, to see if there’s a struggle underneath that façade they may be putting up. Being aware of some of the clues that people may be struggling was a huge thing that Mental Health First Aid provided that I would have never had before.”
As Ari comforts the people they visit together, Wright is there to monitor for signs and symptoms of mental health challenges and get them the help they need. And while mental wellbeing advocacy has always been something Wright has pushed for, it hasn’t always been so accepted.
“I was a state trooper in Washington for 31 years. When I started, mental health awareness and wellness was not a thing. You didn’t mention you were struggling. You didn’t say anything,” he said. “It doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means you’re human and you need help.”
Wright explained that early in his career, critical incident stress debriefings were still new. He had one such debriefing after a traumatic call, and said that without it, his career would have ended then.
Throughout his time on the job, Wright has seen coworkers — other first responders and police officers — die by suicide. Often, he said, they never reached out for help, and others didn’t notice the warning signs that were there.
“Everyone says they never saw it coming. But if you look back and you evaluate it, there were signs. There are signs somebody with training like Mental Health First Aid could have picked up on.”
In his current role as a public information officer and wellness dog handler, Wright wants to bring the same level of awareness to others, especially law enforcement.
“Everyone should be certified in Mental Health First Aid, and not just for within our own ranks,” he said. “Our officers deal with people in crisis every day. Not only would I recommend it, but I would mandate the training to all officers if it was my choice.”
In the meantime, Wright and Ari continue to care for their community and bring smiles to faces, one visit at a time.
Mental Health First Aid for Public Safety is an early intervention training program that teaches public safety personnel how to assist and support their peers or people they encounter in the field who may be experiencing a mental health or substance use challenge.
Find a Mental Health First Aid for Public Safety course near you and #BeTheDifference for the people who work every day to make a difference in our local communities.