CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – Two years after an ambush in east Charlotte killed four officers, a mental health initiative for first responders is launching its first program.
The April 29, 2024, shooting left Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Joshua Eyer, North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections officers Sam Poloche and Alden Elliott, and Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas Weeks Jr. dead. Four other officers were injured in the 17-minute shootout. Officers, firefighters and medics who responded to the scene continue to heal emotionally.
Former Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Dee John launched the Pulse Renewal Project following the shooting to address mental health support for first responders.
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“A lot of times, helpers have this thought process that if I’m a helper, I can’t be one receiving help,” John said. “And so you’re the strongest, you’re the biggest, you’re the best. And so typically, needing help is a sign of weakness. The reality is, is we are all people. We are all broken people. We all have to care for ourselves.”
Survey shapes program design
After announcing the project a year ago, John surveyed 600 first responders about mental health support needs.
“I was flooded with first responders reaching out to me through our social media channels and our website wanting to tell their story,” John said.
The survey revealed first responders did not want clinical settings for mental health support.
“Clinical settings, if they had went to one, it was when they’ve reached a crisis point, a breaking point,” John said. “And I also think from my personal experience that a clinical setting also makes me feel like I’m at work because those are the spaces that I work in.”
Respondents said they seek care within their own communities and prefer outdoor, low-key activities.
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Archery as therapy
The project’s first pathway to care uses archery combined with therapy and peer support. Pastor Aaron Scheer, who has more than 20 years of ministry experience and has worked as a Sheriff’s Office Chaplain in Wisconsin, developed the Center Shot Blue program that uses archery as a metaphor for first responder stress.
“This string is representing our family and our community,” Scheer said. “But on the high-risk parts of the string, the high-risk areas, there’s an extra material that’s called serving. It’s the string serving, and it serves and protects in the high-risk areas, just like an officer. Well, that serving can become frayed and unraveling. And if I ignore it, begins to damage the very thing I’m trying to protect.”
Scheer said his work as a chaplain changed his understanding of first responder challenges.
“I never understood what they really deal with until I walked into their world day in, day out, the ride alongs, the debriefings,” Scheer said. “So I just saw the wear and tear.”
The archery program will include a therapist who understands first responder work and a peer support person.
“When you’re focused on letting that arrow go, you’re not thinking about anything else,” Scheer said. “And now the science tells us that there’s actually a reset.”
John said the approach removes stigma from seeking help.
“It’s an aha moment,” Scheer said. “There’s this like, I don’t have to be afraid of it. It’s not this stigma that is, I need help.”
The archery program is the first pathway being launched as part of Pulse Renewal. Additional programs and a permanent location are planned. More information and donations to the effort can be found by clicking here.
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